Officials during the launch of the report in Juba on Tuesday 14 October, 2020. Credit|UNFPA-South Sudan

Three out of ten girls are already mothers in South Sudan, a State of Adolescents and Youth Report, 2019 has found.

The report launched on Tuesday by the Ministry of Youths and Sports shows that four out ten girls are already married off before the age of 18.

The report which focused on key areas such as; demography, education, employment and productivity, health, youth participation in politics, media, sports, peace among others was supported by UNFPA and other partners.

Among key findings are that people below the age of 30 make up 72 percent of the country’s population.

It stated that eight out of ten children fail to complete primary school education.

UNFPA – midwifery specialist – Gillian Gutts called on the government to invest in young people for the country to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

“More importantly, it [report] also looks at the key interventions that will address the issues raised,” Ms. Butts-Garnet said during the launch in Juba, Tuesday.

The report also revealed that nine out of ten youth aged 15-24 are without formal employment.

“These include an increasing resourced allocation for education, creating employment opportunities for the youth and providing urgent and accelerated health services for them, among many other recommendations,” she stated.

Among other recommendations in the report, the current government must implement the revitalized peace deal to pave way for a durable peace.