A landmark study has calculated failure to address child marriage is costing Nigeria more than ₦3500 billion every year, and tens of thousands of lives.

The study by a team from Childlight Global Child Safety Institute is the first to estimate the economic burden of child marriage in Nigeria. 

With 42% of Nigerian women reporting child marriage the research highlights the urgent need to overcome obstacles to ending the practice.

The findings have been welcomed by Nigerian charity the Child Solidarity Group who have called for a review of child rights legislation in the country.

Published in the journal Child Abuse and Neglect the study calculates the severe economic and societal costs of marriage under the age of 18. Looking at the impact on girls, who are mainly affected by the practice, researchers found:

In 2019 nearly 40,000 children under the age of 5 years died because their mothers were child brides.

In the same year an estimated 3,489 girls died from pregnancy and childbirth resulting from child marriage.

Child marriage decreases a girl’s likelihood of completing secondary or higher education by 23%.

Earnings for women who married in childhood are 12% lower than they could have been without child marriage.

The study quantified the health and economic impact of child marriage by calculating the proportion of health problems attributable to child marriage. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost due to child marriage-related health outcomes were estimated, with one DALY equal to the value of the country’s average income. The impact of child marriage on girls’ education and future earnings were also included in the calculation.

Through this process researchers estimate the aggregate economic burden of child marriage to Nigerian society as ₦3532 billion annually, representing 2.43% of the country’s GDP.

The research included a nationally representative sample of approximately 42,000 Nigerian households from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey (NDHS).

Calling for urgent action to end the practice Childlight’s Director of Data, Deborah Fry, who is a Professor of International Child Protection Research at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Child marriage is not only a violation of children’s rights but also a barrier to national development, perpetuating intergenerational cycles of poverty and inequality.

“Ending child marriage is an investment in the health and education of children across the country, which will unlock their potential and yield tremendous returns for Nigeria’s future.”

Child marriage is consistently linked to devastating outcomes including maternal mortality, miscarriage and stillbirth, as well as domestic violence, and poor educational outcomes such as dropping out of school and poor literacy.

Nigeria enacted the Child Rights Act in 2003 which bans marriage under the age of 18, however not all states in the country have adopted the act.

The research, which was funded by UNICEF’s Nigeria Country Office, provides critical evidence to guide policymakers in their efforts to end child marriage by 2030, a key target under the Sustainable Development Goals.

Commenting lead author Dr Xiangming Fang, who is Professor of Health Economics at China Agricultural University with a joint appointment at the school of public health at Georgia State University, said: “Despite child marriage still being commonplace in Nigeria little was known about the economic burden it places on the country. We hope our work in this study puts a spotlight on the staggeringly high price being paid for a practice that has no place in a world that respects the rights of children. A prosperous future for Nigeria hinges on ending child marriage.”

Nigerian based non-profit organisation The Child Solidarity Group, have welcomed the research saying it speaks to both the human and economic cost of child marriage.

Chief Executive and co-founder Emediong Akpabio believes future studies which capture the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic will show the economic burden has continued to rise. He said: “In those periods, the number of children in education emergencies grew from about 12.5 million to over 20 million; with more than 60% of girls dropping out of school and potentially putting them at risk of being married off as brides. In this period, the number of street children also increased to about 14 million, with girls who would be grappling for their livelihoods on the street.

“These vulnerabilities are further complicated by the state of Nigeria’s institutional care system being overburdened by the demand for social protection, worsening the trend and crisis of child marriage.

“We urge the government to set a legislative process in motion to review the current Child Rights Act which was passed in 2003 and 20 years later, only managed to receive the domestication of 34 states. Reviewing this Act would allow for new legislative provisions capable of addressing emerging threats against children that are not only facilitated by harmful cultural practices but also technology.

“Re-thinking the educational system that gives not only opportunity to child marriage survivors to gain formal education, but having incentives to help their children complete school can potentially save Nigeria from billions of naira lost to this crisis.”

At the 1st Global Ministerial Conference on ending violence against children held in Colombia in November this year, the Nigerian government pledged to eliminate child marriage and female genital mutilation with the roll out a costed plan of action.