Bad weather pushing children in to marriages

Subsistence farmer work their field of maize after late rains near the capital Lilongwe, Malawi February 1, 2016. Tens of thousands of children across southern Africa are being pushed out of school and into early marriage or child labour because of drought and hunger caused by the El Nino weather pattern. (PHOTO: COURTESY)

Tens of thousands of children across southern Africa are being pushed out of school and into early marriage or child labour because of drought and hunger caused by the El Nino weather pattern, charities said mid last week.

Southern Africa has been hard hit over the past year by an El Nino-inspired drought that has wilted crops, slowed economic growth and driven food prices higher. Increased numbers of children are trading sex and doing domestic work to survive across nine countries, a report by World Vision, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Plan International said.