In this guest post, my colleague Rachel Vogelstein analyzes the issue of child marriage and its implications for U.S. policy in a range of areas. She is the author of an important new CFR report on child marriage.

Under current trends, experts predict that, by 2020, some fifty million girls will be married before they reach their fifteenth birthdays. In a CFR.org video today, which you can view above or on YouTube, I explain three things to know about the practice of child marriage and why it matters to U.S. foreign policy.

First, child marriage is far more prevalent than most people realize. The number of women married as children is staggering: the United Nations estimates that one in three women aged twenty to twenty-four—about 70 million—was married under the age of eighteen. Many of these women are far younger than eighteen at the time of their marriage: nearly five million girls are married under the age of fifteen every year, or about thirteen thousand per day. Some are married as young as eight or nine years old. This practice occurs across regions, cultures, and religions: India accounts for forty percent of the world’s known child brides, and this tradition is also pervasive elsewhere in South Asia, across Sub-Saharan Africa, and in parts of Latin America and the Middle East.

The second thing to know about child marriage is that ending this practice is not just a moral imperative—it is a strategic imperative. Child marriage is undoubtedly a violation of human rights: it truncates girls’ education, robs them of their economic potential, endangers their health, and exposes them to sexual violence and abuse. But child marriage also matters because it undermines U.S. interests in development, prosperity, and stability. Consider, for example, the effect of this practice on economic growth: research suggests that child marriage curtails education for young girls, which has been shown to stifle economic progress. Instability is also associated with child marriage: one analysis found that most of the twenty-five countries with the highest prevalence of child marriage are either fragile states or at high risk of natural disaster. Yet perpetuation of this practice in weak states only exacerbates poverty and instability in places already overwhelmed by complex challenges.

The third thing to know about child marriage is that lawmakers recently elevated this issue on the U.S. foreign policy agenda. In March, Congress enacted a provision in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act that requires the Secretary of State to develop a U.S. strategy to combat child marriage. As the Obama Administration and Congress work together to develop and fund this strategy in a time of fiscal austerity, policymakers would do well to remember that the success of U.S. efforts to foster development, prosperity, and stability will grow if this persistent practice comes to an end.

On the new Ask CFR Experts feature today, I consider the question of whether the United States should continue economic aid to Egypt. “The answer,” I write, “is a resounding yes.” As I add, however:

…Washington is unlikely to increase outright economic aid substantially. Arguably, other forms of assistance, including increased foreign direct investment and trade, and technical and financial support for continued economic reform (particularly on transitioning away from costly and inefficient subsidies), stand to have a bigger positive impact on Egypt’s economy and democratic transition than more monetary aid to the Egyptian government.

You can read the full answer here.

Last week on my blog, I reviewed USAID’s Water and Development Strategy, focusing on the link between water and food security. As I write:

As the global population continues to climb toward 10 billion, and more people enjoy the higher caloric intake of middle class life, finding sustainable ways to improve agricultural productivity is increasingly important. As the USAID strategy makes clear, more careful water management will be a critical part of the solution.

You can read the full post here.

Yesterday on my blog, I discussed the Obama administration’s proposed reforms to U.S. food aid. As I note:

A 2010 interview with former USAID administrator Andrew Natsios serves as a sobering reminder of what’s at stake. “I’ve seen children starve to death when there was a surplus of food in their local markets, but there was no one to buy the food because we didn’t have the money to do that, so people died.”

You can read the full post here.

Yesterday I published an article on ForeignPolicy.com posing ten questions about the BRICS development bank, recently announced by BRICS leaders, and its implications for global development. One question is whether developing countries will welcome the bank. As I write:

Probably. China is known for extending loans and resources without conditionality around touchy subjects like governance, and if the BRICS development bank follows suit, it’s hard to imagine many countries saying no to easy money. Still, there’s likely to be some skepticism, in no small part because of China’s inevitably outsized role in the new bank and also because of the mixed reviews China gets from its global south trading partners.

You can read the article here and an excerpt on my blog here.

On my blog yesterday, I profiled several women who made headlines this year with their courageous stories. One of them is Malawi’s president, Joyce Banda, who is working to put her country on a sustainable path to greater prosperity. As I note, Banda’s background is compelling:

With three young children, she left an abusive husband and launched a garment manufacturing business, which fostered her strong commitment to women’s economic empowerment. She then founded several business associations and groups devoted to boosting women’s economic and social status. All this came before Banda entered politics in 1999.

You can read the full stories of 2012′s remarkable women here.

Yesterday on my blog, I highlighted five innovations poised to have a big impact on global development in 2013. As I write about one of them, Africa’s broadband revolution:

…this expansion of broadband Internet in Africa will hugely accelerate many innovations pertaining to health, education, and agriculture already gaining traction, and spur significant commercial benefits.

You can read the whole list of things to watch here.

Yesterday on my blog, I wrote about the importance and difficulties of including more women-owned businesses in global supply chains, the topic of a meeting I hosted this week as part of CFR’s ExxonMobil Women and Development Roundtable Series. As I note:

While better incorporating women into global supply chains can be a major lever for change, it’s difficult to do. Women business owners in many markets face strong cultural and structural barriers.

You can read about some innovative solutions to these obstacles in the full post here.

Yesterday on my blog, I wrote about the obstacles that prevent poor people from obtaining insurance—and the innovations that are upending this reality. I focus on Ghana, where the organization MicroEnsure is offering low-cost life insurance tied to mobile phone use and savings accounts. As I explain:

Insurance is not something generally available to the poor, who arguably need it most. It is generally viewed as a luxury financial product, and financial institutions have shown little interest in creating insurance products to meet the needs of the poorest. But that is starting to change.

You can read the full post here.

Yesterday on my blog, I discussed the current outlook for food security in the Sahel. While a large humanitarian response and welcome rainfall have averted an immediate crisis, the region continues to face underlying problems ranging from unreliable weather to the conflict in Mali. As I conclude:

Possible elements of a patchwork of solutions include more attention to the unique needs of small-scale farmers and pastoralists, plus interventions adapted to local contexts, like irrigation and better access to drought-resistant seeds and other agricultural inputs. Further experimentation with cash vouchers is also important. But ultimately, the Sahel’s food insecurity issues cannot be addressed without improvements in regional security and local governance.

You can read the full post here.