Girl Child Day: UNICEF urges stronger parenting
Girl Child Day: UNICEF Urges Stronger Parenting to End Child Marriage.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has called on parents, traditional leaders and community stakeholders to strengthen positive parenting as a key strategy to end child marriage in Bauchi and Gombe States.
The call was made on Thursday in Gombe during an engagement organised by UNICEF to commemorate the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child, observed every October 11.
The meeting brought together traditional rulers, women groups, NGOs, media practitioners and adolescent girls from both states to celebrate progress and discuss practical ways to protect girls' rights, wellbeing and education.
Speaking at the event, Chief of UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr Nuzhrat Rafiq, said positive parenting remains one of the most effective tools to tackle harmful social norms that deny girls their future.
She noted that this year's theme, "End Child Marriage and Invest in the Girl Child," is a call for all sectors — education, health, nutrition and social policy — to invest deliberately in girls.
"If child marriage does not end, girls will not get the right opportunities to grow to their full potential. And if girls are behind, the nation will be behind," Rafiq said.
According to UNICEF, child marriage remains high in Bauchi and Gombe, with one in three girls in sub-Saharan Africa married before 18. Globally, over 12 million girls are married yearly before adulthood.
UNICEF urged state governments, Houses of Assembly and parents to prioritise girls' education and keep them in school, saying education is the strongest shield against early marriage.
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