Mauritania is one of the poorest countries in the world, characterised by exceptionally dry weather and a lack of rainfall. But in 2023 and 2022, climate-fueled heavy rainfall caused severe flooding, massively disrupting life there. People died, crops were destroyed, and livestock drowned.
In 2023, around 1.1 million people were dependent on humanitarian aid. Right now, more than 500,000 people do not have enough to eat and around 22 per cent – almost one in four – live in poverty. Child labour affects 12.5 per cent of children between the ages of five and 14 years.
In these dire circumstances, child marriage often becomes endemic. In Mauritania, some 37 per cent of girls are married before the age of 18. Many women die because they become pregnant too young.
CARE’s Tipping Point initiative identifies the root causes of child, early, and forced marriage and works to facilitate innovative strategies that can help create alternative paths for adolescent girls. The project also seeks to influence the way policymakers, donors, researchers, and civil society approach the issue of child marriage, specifically to steer the global discourse beyond short-term solutions.
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Your donation can help end extreme poverty and give people the means to build a better future for themselves in countries like Mauritania.
For those living in extreme poverty, your support brings education and training, healthcare and clean water, nutritious food, and new ways to earn an income. And in times of crisis, you help us deliver emergency relief. Please donate today.
