Prevalence of Child Marriage Among Yemeni and Somali Refugee and Host Communities in Djibouti, 2019

Abstract

Despite increased vulnerability of displaced communities, the evidence of child marriage in humanitarian setting remains scarce. We conducted this study to estimate the prevalence of child marriage among Somali and Yemeni refugees and their host communities in Djibouti; and assess its independent associations with different exposure variables. Using a stratified random sampling design, we recruited eligible refugee and hosts-near-refugee households within four cites in Djibouti during February-March 2019. We assessed the prevalence of females aged 20-24 married <15 and <18, the prevalence of marriage within females aged 10-19 and 15-19, and multivariate associations between exposure variables and child marriage. Overall, 1,276 households and 6,784 household members were recruited. Among female refugees aged 20-24 (N=107), the prevalence of first married <18 was 10.5 percent and 4 percent for Yemeni and Somali refugees; and among female refugees aged 10-19 (N=1,239), the prevalence of marriage was 7.8 percent and 6.6 percent for Yemeni and Somali refugees, respectively. Child marriage was independently associated with age of the girl (AOR=1.60, 95% CI=1.38-1.85); education level of the head-of-household (AOR=2.65, 95% CI=1.45-4.84); and education of the girl (AOR=0.56, 95% CI =0.30-1.05). This study provides the estimates of child marriage prevalence within Somali and Yemeni refugee communities in Djibouti, adds to the evidence on the protective role of girls education against child marriage, and informs child health, education, and protection programmes targeting these communities in the future.