Thomson Reuters Foundation: Sierra Leone’s first lady gets to grips with child marriage
“The first lady of Sierra Leone says she is a ‘hands-on woman’ with a sure-fire strategy to tackle child marriage — she visits elders across the land and urges them to wield influence and prolong the nation’s childhood…” (Peyton, 10/24).

U.N. News Centre: Ending child marriage in West and Central Africa could take 100 years, warns UNICEF
“Unless progress is accelerated, ending child marriage in West and Central Africa will take more than 100 years, with far-reaching, life-altering consequences for millions of child brides and crippling impact on the region’s prosperity, the United Nations children’s agency has said [in a new report released Monday, Achieving a future without child marriage: Focus on West and Central Africa]…” (10/24).

VOA News: World Bank: Ending Child Marriage Would Boost West, Central Africa Economies
“…West and Central Africa is home to six of the 10 countries with the highest [child marriage] prevalence rates worldwide. According to UNICEF, four in 10 girls in the region are married before the age of 18. In a new study, the World Bank says by 2030, the annual benefit from ending child marriage could reach well above $60 billion for West and Central Africa…” (Christensen, 10/24).

Xinhua News: Urgent action, or 100 years to end child marriage in West, Central Africa, says UNICEF
“…The new projections, released during a high-level meeting on ending child marriage held in Dakar, capital and largest city of Senegal, this week, aim to bring the spotlight on the region of the world where girls face the highest risk of marrying in childhood…” (10/23).