Awareness campaign stops early marriages in Amran

Mo’ath Monassar
For the Yemen Times
Published:22-03-2010

AMRAN, March 20 – An awareness campaign on the hazards of early marriage has succeeded in preventing ten early marriages in Amran, according to its organizers.
The campaign concluded earlier this month in the Al-Sood and Al-Sooda districts of Amran, and was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Shahrazad Al-Haiti, coordinator of the program, said that the program was conducted in these two governorates due to lack of health education, widespread illiteracy, and the absence of health centers there.
She pointed out that the project had required great efforts due to the local tribes’ initial refusal to welcome them to the area.
The campaign organizers held lectures, plays and competitions to make people aware of the risks of early marriage.
The team members consisted of doctors, academics, members of the local council, teachers, and mosque preachers.
According to Al-Haiti, the program offered health consultations and medication to patients who visited two health centers in the cities of Hajja and Amran.
“We received around 3,000 cases [in the two districts], 200 of which were pregnant women with severe vaginal bleeding,” said Al-Haiti, who added that many divorce cases in court were caused by early marriage.
Up to 75 percent of marital problems happen as a result of early marriage in which girls are not able to understand the duties of marriage, according to the findings of Huria Al-Afiri, the coordinator of the program in Al-Sooda district.
Mohammad Ahmed, the head of local health office, said that the problem lies in peoples’ minds and in the absence of health care centers.
He added that people there need to be informed about the potential problems resulting from early marriage.
According to a recent study by the World Health Organization, up to 365 young mothers die per 1,000 live births.
Most of these cases are young mothers under the age of 18.
For every 50 women in Yemen, one dies during childbearing age because of multiple pregnancies. The study showed that the severe vaginal bleeding during labor and high blood pressure afterwards were among the reasons for these deaths.
Other causes of mortality rate among young mothers are the low level of medical services for the pregnant women.
Nabila Al-Abhar, manager of the reproductive health office at the Ministry of Health and Population, confirmed that there are dozens of women who die while giving birth, especially those who give birth at home.

Courtesy Yemen Times