UNFPA / UNICEF: Life, Interrupted

To mark the International Day of the Girl Child, UNFPA and UNICEF, together with creative partner, Wunderman Thompson Portugal, are launching a campaign to raise awareness for their End Child Marriage programmes across the globe. Understanding the importance of investing in girls' leadership and well-being in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, UNFPA and UNICEF have been committed to ending child marriage as an urgent priority through their Global Programme to End Child Marriage. The campaign, 'Life, Interrupted', features print ads that tell the stories of Aisha, from Yemen, Dembe, from Uganda, and Sonakhi, from India, to raise awareness of child marriage and underscore how ending child marriage is a difficult task that needs the support of governments, institutions, companies, and people around the world. Worldwide, one in every five girls is married, formally or informally, before reaching 18 years of age. In the least developed countries, that number almost doubles: 36% of girls are married before 18, and 10% before age 15. That’s more than 12 million children whose lives are interrupted ahead of time. The consequences to their lives are as devastating as they are to the world: more often than not, untimely marriage means being deprived from attending school, which means financial dependency and lost potential in assisting their peers and communities. It also means, in most cases, early pregnancies with an increased risk of complications in pregnancy and childbirth – these complications are the leading cause of death among older adolescent girls. When given the opportunity to reach their full potential, through school and other skills programmes developed and promoted by the Global Programme, girls are likely to become leaders and pillars of their communities, helping to empower other girls in their circle. The consequences of this positive feedback-loop are tremendous: improvements in health, education, gender equality, sustainable economic and environmental practices, amongst many others.