South Sudan’s government has promised to end child marriages by 2030 in line with the African Union's campaign to achieve this goal on the continent by then, BBC Africa reports. 

Paramount chiefs from 10 regional states and the three administrative areas met in the capital, Juba, on the 2nd of December 2021, for the second national conference on ending child marriages.

Among the proposals suggested at the conference was Swedish ambassador Joachim Waern’s call for a law criminalising child marriages.

A survey conducted in 2010 found that about seven % of girls marry before the age of 15, and 40% before the age of 18.

South Sudan's gender ministry says only 6.2% of girls in South Sudan complete primary school, with one out of five dropping out of secondary school due to pregnancies.

“With the closure of schools, more time spent at home and increased stress due to COVID-19, more girls have been exposed to increased risks of sexual abuse, child marriage and early pregnancies”, said Minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare H.E. Ayaa Benjamin Warille.

According to UNICEF, about one third of all girls in South Sudan are pregnant before turning 15.

Those most affected are between the ages of 15 to 19 years.