Former Minister of Education Obiageli Ezekwesili has called for an end to child marriage and greater investment in girls' education. In a statement to mark the International Day of the Girl Child, Ezekwesili, founder of Human Capital Africa, cited UNICEF figures showing that about one in five girls worldwide is married before the age of 18. She said 23.6 million women and girls in Nigeria were married as children. In Jigawa State, 78 per cent of women aged 20 to 49 married before 18, and 63 per cent left school to marry. Ezekwesili said each additional year of secondary school reduces a girl's chance of child marriage by at least five percentage points, and urged governments to keep girls in school.