The Parent and Child  Health Initiative in collaboration with UNICEF has joined hands with government in ending child marriages and eradicating harmful practices that fuel gender based violence in neno district.

Traditional Authority Mchinguza of Machinga has threatened to remove from positions chiefs who are aiding perpetrators of child marriages to escape into neighboring Mozambique, saying it is affecting efforts to end the vice in the area.

Authorities in Phalombe say over 200 children have been withdrawn from early marriages from April 2021.

The ministry of gender, community development and social welfare says there is a need for district councils in the country to increase financial resources towards the protection and promotion of lives of children in their districts by using part of constituency development funds, District Development Funds and revenues they collect.

It is a tradition in most Malawi’s rural setups, just like in many African countries, to send young girls to initiation camps in preparation for adulthood.

Minister of local government and rural development, Ben Malunga Phiri, has asked the new Chief Bwananyambi of Mangochi to help government in fighting child marriages which he says are a cause to worry in the district.

Parenting is thought to be contributing to rise in child marriages and teenage pregnancies in Mchinji district.

Senior Chief Kachindamoto of Dedza district has fired 16 chiefs in her area for tolerating child marriages in the district.