There are plenty of reasons that are robbing children of their childhood and child marriage is one of them. However, in India things are changing as the percentage of child marriages have come down to 15.2 percent from 21.1 percent in 2017, reports The Times of India.

According to a Save the Children’s "End of Childhood Index 2018”, India ranks 113 among 175 countries with regards to where childhood is threatened as a result of poor health, malnutrition, exclusion from education, child labour, child marriage, early pregnancy and extreme violence.

India jumped three positions up from 116 last year with improvement in India’s overall score by 14 points from 754 to 768 on a scale of 1000. The study attributes this improvement to reduced rate of child marriage.

However, the Index which is part of the report titled “The Many Faces of Exclusion” shows that under five mortality rate (deaths per 1000 live births) was 43 which is a cause of concern. Also, child stunting (children aged 0-59 months) was 38.4 percent and rated as high.

Global scenario

According to the report, more than half of all children globally – over 1.2 billion – are threatened by conflict, widespread poverty or discrimination against girls.

“More than one billion children live in countries plagued by poverty; 240 million in countries affected by conflict and fragility; and more than 575 million girls live in countries where gender bias is a serious issue. Almost 153 million children are living in 20 countries affected by all three threats — including South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan,” stated in the report.

The report also states that children die 20 times more of malnutrition, disease and inadequate healthcare conflict-related violence in war zones.

The incidence of child labour in countries affected by armed conflict is 77 per cent higher than the global average. Conflict also makes girls more vulnerable to child marriage.

Children face threat not only in countries that suffer from poverty or conflicts but nations like United States, Russia, and China despite their economic, military, and technological might are behind all western European countries in the index. While US and Russia rank 36 and 37 on the index, China takes the 40th position.

Singapore and Slovenia are placed at the top sharing the first place in the index and Niger figures at the end of the list at 175.