The Chiefs of the Bongo Traditional Area in the Bongo District in the Upper East Region have declared, "No more child marriage" and promised to lead an intensive campaign towards the elimination of the canker in the district.
The chiefs, led by Naba Baba Salifu Atamale Lemyaarum, Paramount Chief of the area, made the declaration in Bongo at a durbar organised by the Obaapa Development Foundation with funding support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
It was part of the UNFPA's intervention to work with local stakeholders, including traditional authorities, to end child and forced marriage as well as eliminate all forms of abuses and dehumanising socio-cultural practices against women and girls.
The move is part of efforts to break barriers that hinder the progress of women and girls to access education and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly goal five, which puts emphasis on achieving gender parity by 2030.