World Bank warns Tanzania on girl child marriage, education
Educating girls and ending child
marriage could accelerate development progress and the reduction of poverty in
Tanzania, according to a new report published by the World Bank.
In contrast, the perpetuation of
child marriage and the lack of education for girls would lead to lower earnings
for women, substantial health risks, higher intimate partner violence, higher
population growth, and higher poverty among other impacts.
Titled The Power of Investing in
Girls, the 11th Tanzania Economic Update shows that notwithstanding a declining
trend, almost one in three girls still marry before the age of 18 in Tanzania,
whether through formal or informal unions.
Almost one in four girls have
their first child before the age of 18. Partly because of this, the completion
rate for secondary school for girls in the country remains very low.
“Investing in girls’ education is
not only an investment in the girl herself, but also in her children – the
future generation – bringing substantial benefits to the wider society and the
economy. The evidence in this report clearly shows the very high value to
Tanzania of investing in girls and ending child marriage,” said Bella Bird,
World Bank Country Director for Tanzania, Malawi, Burundi and Somalia.
One of the largest economic
benefits from ending child marriage and educating girls would result from a
reduction in population growth and thereby higher standards of living and lower
poverty. Those benefits grow quickly over time. Ending child marriage could
generate benefits of $5 billion (in purchasing power parity) per year by 2030
thanks to lower population growth.
Another large economic benefit of
ending child marriage is in terms of earnings for women thanks to higher
educational attainment for girls. “If women who had married as girls had been
able to delay their marriage, their annual earnings today could have been
higher by more than $600 million. Ending child marriage and educating girls is
not only the right thing to do, it is also a smart investment,” said Quentin
Wodon, World Bank Lead Economist and co-author of the report.
The risks of young children being
stunted or dying by age five due to child marriage and teen pregnancies at a
young age also have large economic costs. As young wives are more prone to
suffer from violence from their partners, ending child marriage and educating
girls could lead to a reduction in intimate partner violence. Finally, through
its impact on reducing population growth, ending child marriage would decrease
the pressure that providing basic services puts on the national budget. The
savings could be invested to improve the quality of public services.
The boost for Tanzania’s economy
that ending child marriage, preventing early childbearing, and investing in
girls’ education would provide would help poverty reduction efforts, as high
population growth makes it especially difficult for Tanzania to achieve
sustained reductions in poverty over time.
Among key recommendations, the
latest Economic Update calls for greater investment in girls’ education,
providing economic opportunities for girls who are out of school and cannot go
back to school, and imparting adolescent girls with life skills and
reproductive health knowledge.
The latest Update presents a
mixed economic performance in 2018. The National Bureau of Statistics did not
release any quarterly GDP data for 2018, pending completion of a rebasing
exercise. However, available data suggest signs of softening of the growth
momentum in 2018, including stagnant exports and missing tax collection
targets. Inflation has remained low, and the exchange rate has been relatively
stable in real terms. The current account deficit has grown in recent months,
though reserves remain strong at roughly six months of import cover. Budget
execution is challenging, with slow implementation of development projects, a
high level of central government payment arrears, and delayed refunds of
value-added tax refunds.
While the Update shows the growth
outlook is uncertain, the downside risks remain largely within government
control. GDP growth projections are awaiting the forthcoming rebased GDP
series. On the domestic front, key risks include delays in reforms to stimulate
private investment and delays in execution of major public infrastructure
projects. In addition, the external environment presents risks related to
rising energy prices and tightening financial markets. To mitigate risks and
accelerate growth that will create jobs for Tanzania’s young women and men,
policy actions are urgently needed to relieve the pressure on businesses by
paying old arrears and VAT refunds; accelerate implementation of key priority
projects that have high impact on business growth and human development
outcomes.
The 11th Tanzania Economic Update
benefited from support from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and the
Global Partnership for Education. The report is one of several country studies
prepared by the World Bank following up on global and regional studies on the
economic impacts of low educational attainment for girls and child marriage. A
regional study for Africa was released at the African Union 2nd African Girls’
Summit to End Child Marriage at the end of November.
Link to Full Report:
http://documents.WorldBank.org/curated/en/930521548691306669/
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