New Delhi: India has some 23 million child brides, around 40 percent of the world total, reveals the National Family Health Survey.The large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in households throughout India has found that at least 46 percent of women between 18 and 29 in the country were married before they were 18, the statutory age for marriage in India for females.The survey began during 21 years ago and has completed three rounds so far.Worldwide, 60 million girls become child brides every year, of which around 30 million belong to South Asia alone.If these trends continue more than 140 million girls will become child brides by 2020, warns the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Among these girls, at least 18.5 million will be under 15.To stem the trends, a global human rights NGO, Breakthrough, is working among rural areas in India, especially Bihar and Jharkhand.It has found that more than 60 percent women in the age group of 20-24 in these two states were married before 18.The NGO launched its “Nation against Early Marriage” campaign in Ranchi recently and has so far reached 35,000 women. It plans to expand the campaign nationwide and target 100,000 women in the coming months.According to the NGO’s data, 71 percent girls in Jharkhand villages were married before 18 compared to 33 percent in cities. In Bihar, 65.2 percent rural girls were married before 18 years compared to 37 percent in urban areas.The NGO had earlier spearheaded “bell bajao (ring the bell) campaign against domestic violence.It now hopes to change the culture that perpetuates early marriage and help society value girls.“Under-age girls are incapable of negotiating domestic violence, are deprived of early health and reproductive rights. This later has implications on child and maternal mortality,” says Breakthrough vice-president Sonali Khan.She said her group realized the gravity of the situation when they were working with communities in Bihar and Jharkhand.Breakthrough is working with communities where the average age of marriage ranges between 15.1 and 16.4 and cohabitation happens before the girl is 17.“Our on-field trainings that began in April have witnessed an average participation of 200 middle and high school level students per session. We have targeted fathers or male members of the family who usually make the decision for the young girl. But it is a slow process,” Khan said.The NGO uses mobile vans, panchayats and folk theatre as medium to create communication tools, reported The Times of India.The national survey undertaken by the Indian government provides information on fertility, infant and child mortality, the practice of family planning, maternal and child health, reproductive health, nutrition, anemia, utilization and quality of health and family planning services.The surveys aims to provide essential data on health and family welfare needed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and other agencies for policy and program purposes, and to provide information on important emerging health and family welfare issues.The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare designated the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, as the nodal agency responsible for providing coordination and technical guidance for the survey.IIPS collaborated with a number of field organizations for survey implementation. Each field organization was responsible for conducting survey activities in one or more states.The first phase was conducted in during 1991-1992, the second in 1998-1999, while the latest was during 2005-2006.