Communities in Traditional Authority Mkagula in Zomba district have commended Youth Net and Counselling (YONECO) for its interventions in the fight against child marriages in the area.

The remarks were made during an awareness campaign which YONECO conducted under the Go Back to School campaign which was initiated by Traditional Authority Mkagula.

Speaking to YFM during the event, Officer-in-charge for Sakata Police Unit Francis Chiwaya said the move is key to addressing cases of child marriages and bringing back children to school.

“I know some of you marry these children because they are pregnant but I tell you today that pregnancy is not a certificate to marriage,” Chiwaya said.

He also noted that polygamy is also contributing to the rising cases of child marriage as well as early pregnancies in the area.

Chiyawa advised community members to give their children proper advice in order to keep them away from promiscuous behavior that can lead to early pregnancies.

According to the Malawi Demographic and Health Survey report of 2016, 42 in every 100 girls under the age blacket of 11 and 15 are married off before the legal age of 18.

This is commonly blamed on cultural and economic factors.

Machinga, Mulanje, Mangochi, Mzimba and Zomba are some of the districts with high cases of child marriages in the country.