Malawi has today, Friday, 12th June,2020, commemorate World Day Against Child Labour ( WDACL).
The commemorations is focusing on the impact of Covid-19 on Child Labour under the theme “COVID-19: Protect Children from Child labour, now more than ever!
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic and labour market shock are having impact on people’s lives and livelihoods saying children are often the first to suffer.
Speaking a head of the Day, Director for ILOs country office for Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, Me. George Okutho, says the crisis can push millions of vulnerable children into child labour saying Globally, there are estimated 152 million children in child labour, 72 million are in hazardous work and at even greater risk of facing working longer hours.
Okutho says in Malawi, the most recent National Child Labour Survey ( NCLS) conducted in 2015 found that 38% of children aged 5 – 17 years, are involved in child labour, amounting to 2.1 million children, more than half of whom are engaged in hazardous work.
He says the prevalence of child labour increased slightly between 2002 and 2005 remaining at more than one – third of children in the country.
In his remarks, Mr. Minoru Ogasawara, Chief Technical Advisor, ACCEL Africa, project, ILO, says the ILO in support, is implementing the ,” Accelerating action for the Elimination of Child Labour in supply chains in Africa.
Mr. Ogasawara says the ACCEL Africa project aims to accelerate the Elimination of Child Labour in Malawi by supporting the country to improve and enforce policy, legal and institutional frameworks that addresses child labour and by institutionalizing innovative and evidence – based solutions that addresses the root causes of Child Labour in supply chains, including in Tea supply chains.
The ACCEL Africa project is being supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
