The United Nations Population Fund on Wednesday expressed concerns over the increasing rate of marriage of girl children, estimating that Bangladesh would require over 200 years to eliminate child marriage.
In a press release the UNFPA highlighted the urgency of expanding wives鈥� access to rights-based family planning, uninterrupted supply of contraceptives and other crucial maternal health services in Bangladesh.
Its recommendations came while it was assessing the preliminary findings of the 2025 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics with technical support from UNICEF.
鈥楢s Bangladesh accelerates toward upper-middle-income status by 2031 and strives to achieve the SDGs, there is no pathway to success without investing in the health, rights and education of women and girls,鈥� the release quoted Catherine Breen Kamkong, UNFPA representative in Bangladesh.
According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, the trend of adolescent girls, aged 15鈥�19, being married off increased from 32.9 per cent to 38.9 per cent between 2019 and 2025.
The UNFPA urged the government to equip public health facilities with adequate midwives to prevent adolescent pregnancy and support continuation of schooling for adolescent girls and boys.
Urgent steps to address harmful social norms and practices that perpetuate child marriage and gender-based violence were also recommended.
The UNFPA assessed that the increase in adolescent birth rate from 83 to 92 among 1,000 adolescent wives underscored the strong link between early marriage and other health and social issues.
The survey findings revealed that fertility rates slightly increased due to the disruption in accessing family planning services during the COVID-19 pandemic and a decline in contraceptive use, which the UNFPA termed women鈥檚 uneven access to modern contraception.
The UN organisation also expressed concerns over the rapid rise in Caesarean section deliveries as the 2025 survey estimated this at 36 per cent in 2019 and 51.8 per cent in 2025.
鈥楾his trend heightens risks of unnecessary surgical interventions, poor-quality care, and iatrogenic fistula caused by unsafe surgery,鈥� the UNFPA said.
However, the UN organisation appreciated Bangladesh鈥檚 progress in reducing infant mortality and maternal health service coverage, the release said.
