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Govt Move to Cut Marriageable Age

Dev partners concerned

Staff Correspondent
Bangladesh's development partners have expressed concern over the government's move to reduce marriageable age of girls to 16 from 18.
"The donor community thinks that Bangladesh's achievements in reducing maternal and child mortality rate will be jeopardised if marriageable age is reduced," an official of the health ministry toldThe Daily Star.
Maternal mortality rate came down to 194 per lakh now from 322 in 2000, while under-five child mortality rate dropped to 44 per 1,000 from 153 in 1990, according to official data.
These achievements, which are in line with the Millennium Development Goals, have been highly appreciated by the UN and the interna-
tional community.
However, the donor community has expressed frustration as some of the cabinet members at a meeting on September 15 suggested that marriageable age of girls could be reduced to 16 for socio-economic reasons.
The observations came at a policy dialogue on the mid-term review of the Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Development Programme (HPNSDP) in the capital's Cirdap auditorium.
Some 19 development partners, including the World Bank, Department for International Development (DFID), Unicef, UNFPA, European Union, USAID, SIDA, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and Save the Children, different NGO representatives and the government
officials took part in the four-day dialogue that ended yesterday.
The donor community observed that if the marriageable age for girls is lowered, maternal and child mortality would go up, and the overall health status of women and children will be affected.
In Bangladesh, some 65 percent of girls are married off before the age of 18. This rate could even go up, said the health ministry official quoting the development partners.
They recommended that health ministry hold a consultation among gynaecologists, children and adolescent health experts, and the development partners soon and make suggestions to the government on the issue.
“In that case the government can
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make an informed decision,” the official said.
State Minister for Health Zahid Maleque said girls' tendency to elope at an early age prompted the government to discuss the issue.
"However, no decision has been taken yet," he said at the concluding session of the policy dialogue yesterday.
Health Secretary MM Neazuddin said the decision would be taken only after a consultation with children and women health experts and development partners.