On October 24, 2019 the Odisha govt has launched a Strategic Action Plan(SAP) at a conference in the state organized on prevention of child marriage in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. SAP, which is to be implemented between 2019-2024 will function with the support of UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) & UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) to end child marriage in the state by 2030.
Key points:
i. The conference on child marriage prevention was launched by the state’s Women and Child Development Minister Tukuni Sahu. The draft plan was released on the occasion to develop a management information system to ensure proper monitoring of the strategic plan.
ii. 6 girls in the state were felicitated as champions of ending child marriage for their opposition to child marriage. Key messages on Child marriage was also released by ‘Tiki Mausi’, the mascot of the Department of Women and Child Development.
iii. Reports: Deepa Prasad, State Programme Coordinator of UNFPA, reported that 21.3% of the prevalence of child marriages were in Odisha, which is near to the national average of 26.8%. It is only 11% in case of boys against the national average of 20.3%. The data is as per NFHS-4 (National Family Health Survey 2015-16).
iv.Members present: Monika Nielsen, State Chief of field office of UNICEF and other officials were present during the launch of SAP.
About Odisha:
Capital: Bhubaneswar
Chief minister: Naveen Patnaik
Governor- Ganeshi Lal
Famous temple- Jagannath temple, Lingaraja temple, Mausi Maa temple