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Gender and Social Protection Minister, Nana Oye Lither, has lamented the rate of child marriages in the country which she says is on the ascendancy. The minister stated that the national rate of child marriage which is about 27% puts Ghana among the worst 20 or 30 countries globally in terms of child marriage, adding there is no single community in the country that is not dominant with issues of child marriage. �I do not want to single out one community; it is a cultural issue that is exacerbated by poverty,� Mrs. Lithur stated. The minister further revealed that, her ministry is putting in place measures to reduce its occurrence including engaging with queen mothers and improving education of the girl-child. �Child marriage is illegal but the communities don�t see it that way. We must handle the issue in a cohesive way in order not to antagonize or push away the communities,� Nana Oye Lithur stressed. She added that it is important parents willing to adopt children from the various orphanages apply to her ministry.