Archive for category: Child Labor

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Child Labor in Burkina Faso: What is Being Done to Help

Child Labor in Burkina FasoAround 37% of Burkina Faso’s children are exploited for child labor, maintaining one of the higher rates globally, according to the United States Bureau of International Labor Affairs. Continued displacement and insecurity have made struggling families and young children vulnerable to exploitation as they fight to sustain means of survival. Numerous agencies are at work to combat the pressing matter, working in tandem to remove children from these areas while raising awareness of the situation.

Sections of Child Labor

The largest section of child labor is agriculture, specifically within the cotton production system. While the livelihood of these families is a factor that contributes to higher rates of child labor, Burkina Faso shows a division stemming from rural versus urban neighborhoods. Those living in rural neighborhoods are increasingly susceptible to child labor as they face increased challenges to education access and the necessity of working on family farms.

Cotton farming requires intensive labor with long hours of physical work in high temperatures, insufficient pay, rest or nutrition. Economic need largely motivates the high rate of children working in cotton production or agriculture. A report published in Frontiers in Public Health points to the sector’s importance to the country’s economic development, citing the financial benefits from cotton production and sales.

A lack of education, finances and alternative employment options in the rural communities contributes to the many children forcibly working in these cotton factories. The percentage of rural children involved in child labor is more than double urban children, sitting at 42.5% of ages 5 to 14. Each policy and initiative in place aims to counteract at least one or more of these contributing factors, creating the infrastructure and policy that will provide accessible options for these children and families who are struggling.

Solutions

One of the efforts that Burkina Faso is making to eradicate the issue of child labor is through policy reform and law enforcement. To counteract the contributing factors of lacking education and alternative employment, “the minimum age of employment and compulsory schooling has been set at 16 years.” By implementing this, it holds these agricultural sectors and services legally accountable for the children they forcibly employ, allowing the government and law enforcement to take legal action against these institutions.

Compulsory schooling is a necessary change as it keeps children away from the smaller family farms they work at in the poorer and more rural areas. It helps reduce child labor by keeping children in school while improving their long-term employment options.

The CLEAR Cotton project is an initiative that helps children and families forced into labor in the cotton industry. It works as an integrative approach that meets these children’s basic needs and upholds the legislative framework governing bodies have implemented. The project builds community trust as it also aims to work with these affected local communities.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) brief explains that the project achieves this by expanding economic opportunities in these cotton farm districts. It is a way to directly address the lack of alternative employment opportunities.

Lastly, the newly implemented agencies and organizations demonstrate awareness and reform. The Ministry of Civil Service, Labor and Social Protection along with the Ministry of Humanitarian Action and National Solidarity, are in charge of removing these children from exploitative labor and raising awareness of the situation. The National Coordination Committee for the National Strategy Plan to Combat the Worst Forms of Child Labor (CNC-SN/PFTE) is in charge of defining these strategies on what resources to implement with the former two ministries, working in unison to monitor and implement new efforts.

Along with this, mandatory training equips childcare workers and those in positions of authority to recognize and act when they notice a child is involved with forced labor. This includes but is not limited to, “social workers, health workers, magistrates… [and] school teachers.”

Results

The community directly benefits from the combination of infrastructure the project has created and beneficiaries that will help families financially to resolve their pressing economic issues. The project has established 30 community bodies and five child protection networks in response to the recent efforts. This demonstrates the physical and direct change visible in the country as it moves toward reducing and eradicating child labor.

While child labor remains a significant issue, investing in education and child protection services showcases promising progress. Continued government support and outside assistance could help the country save countless children and provide them with a more hopeful future.

– Angelica Ciaravino

Angelica is based in Toronto, Canada and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Challenging Times for Children in Somalia

Children in SomaliaAll children face challenges as they grow into the world around them. Making friends, schoolwork and navigating a social life can all be difficult for a young person, but for children born in Somalia, these growing pains carry the devastating weight of extreme poverty and labor. Somalia is among the world’s poorest countries.

Due to widespread poverty, Somali children struggle to remain in education, often opting to work to help provide for their families, leading to a massive child labor problem.

Comparing British and Somali Education

One primary reason Somali children fall into child labor is the poor education system. In a 2024 article for Atlantis Press, Somali residents told interviewers that most schools in the country are private. Often, students have no choice but to drop out as there is no nearby school they can affordably attend.

In the United Kingdom (U.K.), by contrast, state education is free to attend for every resident child, and only around 6% of pupils attend fee-charging private schools.

Even if a Somali child has access to public education, severe poverty means remaining in school is not financially viable for many families. Reliable national figures are scarce, but the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) estimates that nearly 85% of Somali children are not enrolled in school at all. The International Labour Organization (ILO) survey data cited by the United States (U.S.) Department of Labor recorded school attendance as low as 38% among 5- to 14-year-olds in some regions. Those who do work most often turn to agriculture, household labor and street work.

Conversely, in the U.K., the Education Maintenance Allowance — a weekly payment for those aged 16 to 18 from deprived backgrounds who remained in full-time education — helped keep young people in school; by 2011, around 45% of that age group in England were receiving it. England then scrapped the payment and replaced it with a bursary scheme, though it continues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Somalia’s literacy indicators remain among the world’s weakest. Across Sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 89% of children cannot read and understand a simple text by age 10, and Somalia-specific data are scarcer still.

The Labor Problem

With staggering numbers, it is hard to believe that child labor is illegal in Somalia. The legal age of work in Somalia is 15, similar to the U.K.’s 16. However, the U.S. Department of Labor states that due to “a lack of resources, training, and administrative capacity,” authorities poorly enforce these laws, making it easy for employers to hire underage workers with little consequence. For example, over-12s in Somalia can technically take “light work,” but the legislation does not specify what “light work” actually is. Therefore, if “light work” is subjective, employers can assign over-12s any type of work. Furthermore, employers face no penalties if they break these laws. Despite a child labor investigation team existing within the Somali police force, it has not reported any workplace inspections or violations of child labor laws.

In the U.K., legislation and penalties are much stricter. Violations of child labor laws could result in a £1,000 fine or half a year in prison. Because Somalia lacks enforcement like this, child labor is harder to abolish.

Putting an End to Child Labor

Child labor is an overwhelming problem in Somalia; it denies children a childhood, an education and can also be dangerous in industries like agriculture, which involve heavy machinery. The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), a large nonprofit organization, aims to help end child labor. UNICEF is advocating for:

  • Stricter child labor laws
  • Creating advanced social care for children
  • Providing vital education access

Established in 1946, UNICEF is a long-standing charity that aims to uphold the rights of children everywhere under the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This includes the right to education and play, which many Somali children tragically miss from their lives. UNICEF works to bridge the gap between different countries so that British and Somali children alike can go to school, feel safe and enjoy their childhood.

In 2026, UNICEF appealed for $121 million to meet the urgent needs of children and families in Somalia; by March, it had received less than $20 million of that total.

– Lisa Jane Bryant

Lisa is based in Glasgow, Scotland and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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All That Glitters is Gold: Child Labor in the DRC

Child Labour in the DRCConflict has persisted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since 1996, internally displacing more people than at any other time in recorded history.

United Nations (U.N.) data from 2022 records 5.6 million internally displaced persons affected by violence that has evolved from warfare involving neighboring countries to a stagnant, fragmented stalemate among more than 100 militia groups in eastern Congo.

The conflict remains peripheral, confined to the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu. Meanwhile, a thousand miles away, the capital Kinshasa remains unaffected, intensifying the normalization of this decades-long hostility.

Mining and Congo’s Bloodstained War Economy

Mining communities in the DRC are the heart of the eastern conflict. Seventy-five percent of the world’s cobalt is sourced in the DRC, alongside zinc, copper and gold. Despite mining being the economic backbone of the DRC, these communities remain among the poorest in the country; $24 trillion worth of resources lie untapped, yet those who tirelessly work to uncover them reap little reward.

As global demand for technologies rises, the demand for cobalt grows exponentially. Jason Stearns, an expert in the conflict in the DRC, cites the disturbing symbiosis between the conflict and the creation of a military bourgeoisie: “Belligerents on all sides of the battlefield have an interest in continuing the conflict.”

Prolonging violence favors the material interests of this military bourgeoisie, who profit from roadblocks, illegal taxation, controlling artisanal and small-scale mines, smuggling, trafficking, racketeering, along with legal and extra-legal payments linked to military operations.

Mining and the extraction of raw materials, from gold to cobalt, are central to this profitable war economy, but such benefits only reach a handful of individuals and political elites.

Particularly in small-scale and artisanal mining, child labor persists as one of the most pernicious issues of this war economy. High poverty rates lead families to send children into the hazardous conditions of the mines, where they are paid meager wages of $2 a day.

A 2023-24 survey suggests that one in 10 children ages 5 to 17 are subjected to work in dangerous conditions.

One militia commander is recorded, with a problematically normalizing sentiment, saying children make good combatants because they “learn easily” and “obey.”

Child labor in the DRC presents an even darker issue, reaching beyond the informal and dangerous conditions of the mine onto the battlefield.

Failed Peace Brokering

Peacekeeping missions have often focused on a top-down approach. Ostensibly, the investment in peace in the Congo has been immense.

However, an operational review by Congolese and international consultants, funded with a grant from the U.K.’s government aid agency, the Department for International Development (DFID), noted how aid efforts are often infiltrated by fraudsters and corruption inside the DRC. This internal corruption disrupts the impact of vital aid efforts, which hold the promise of alleviating poverty in the DRC’s poorest and most vulnerable communities.

Aid, funds from foreign donors and supplies are siphoned off, leaving recipients at a loss. Corruption is often treated as inconsequential, with perpetrators left without sanctions and bribes used to hide corruption. The problem of how to implement foreign aid and donations in a system so rife with corruption remains.

A New Wave of Aid

In 2026, KSQF and UNICEF announced their strategic alliance to prevent child labor in the DRC.

The initiative builds on UNICEF’s TPS+ model, which has had a significant impact, helping to remove 1,015 children from mines in 2024. Five hundred ninety-nine of these children have now been re-enrolled in school. The initiative will remain vigilant, monitoring progress to produce a replicable model of child protection that can be reproduced elsewhere in the DRC and further afield.

Bottom-up approaches have also been implemented through the continued work of the Conflict Resolution Centre (CRC), which focuses on children from rebel groups in mining communities.

The school reintegration program concentrates on child soldiers under 14 and, since commencing work, more than 1,000 children have left armed groups.

The CRC, like UNICEF’s model, seeks to not only offer situational change but to build capacity within these vulnerable mining communities. Vocational training in skills such as carpentry, mechanics, livestock rearing and electronics helps to build alternative income-generating activities.

UNICEF and KSQF are equally generating advocacy and understanding about the conditions children are subjected to as soldiers and in artisanal small-scale mines. This builds upon the efforts of the International Labour Organization (ILO) SCREAM program (Supporting Children’s Rights through Education, the Arts and the Media). Through SCREAM, teachers, children and the local community have been mobilized, actively protesting the end of child labor in mines. More than 1,800 individuals have been reached by this socio-cultural activity, raising awareness about child labor issues and the intervention needed to prevent it.

Such approaches, directed straight to local mining communities, demonstrate that even amid conflict and corruption, preventing child labor in the DRC is actively being worked toward by creative and targeted aid initiatives.

– Millie Lavington-Owen

Millie is based in London, UK and focuses on Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Hazelnut Farms and Child Labor in Turkey

Child Labor in TurkeyTurkey is an upper-middle-income country located in Western Asia, specifically in Anatolia. It borders both the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. With a population of  over 87 million as of 2023, according to the World Health Organization, child labor rates remain evident across the country, particularly on hazelnut farms. Many young children are forced to work long, strenuous and dangerous hours to earn a living. However, solutions such as funded programs, addressing child rights through well-being summer schools and strict government laws aim to limit the scale of child labor. 

Hazelnut Production – The Black Sea Region

Turkey produces the majority of the world’s hazelnuts, which are exported globally. The country supplies approximately 75% of the global market, according to the International Society for Horticultural Science. The Black Sea region of Turkey has cultivated hazelnuts since around 1500 B.C. The region’s damp, temperate climate enables hazelnut production to flourish and contributes significantly to Turkey’s export revenue. Its mountain slopes and steep land are well-suited for growing hazelnuts.

Giresun is a city located in the Black Sea region of Turkey and is widely known as the hazelnut capital of the world. Ongoing demand has led producers to rely on young children to work in the agricultural sector. This has contributed to the continued use of child labor on hazelnut farms in Turkey.

Child Labor in the Agriculture Sector in Turkey

Across the Black Sea region, most production is carried out through manual labor. Internal migrants who settle in small communities often rely on their children to work in agricultural industries, including hazelnut farming. As a result, children are forced to work long, strenuous hours in challenging climate conditions.

According to the Rainforest Alliance, agricultural work is classified under Turkish law as hazardous for anyone younger than 18. However, some children working on hazelnut farms are between the ages of 15 and 18.

Manual Labor and Dangers Across Hazelnut Farms

Children in Turkey experience some of the most severe forms of child labor, particularly in agriculture. Farm work remains common due to high demand for hazelnuts. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 57.1% of working children in Turkey are employed in the agriculture sector.

Common dangers and conditions include:

  • Lack of protective gear while working in fields
  • Long and physically demanding work hours
  • Exposure to harsh climate conditions, including high temperatures
  • Contact with chemicals and pesticides due to limited protective equipment
  • Lifting heavy loads after harvesting
  • Internal migration during school holidays, which exposes children to labor instead of education programs or school

Solutions and Laws

  • Summer Schools for Children. Children across Turkey who are out of school during holidays often work on agricultural farms. According to the Rainforest Alliance, two of its company partners have established summer school programs for these children. Teaching modules include math, science, photography, music and drama. These subjects are organized by the Turkish Ministry of National Education.
  • Funded Programs. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, from 2012 to 2020, an eight-year program was implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Turkey’s Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MOLSS). The program was funded by the Association of Chocolate, Biscuit and Confectionery Industries of Europe (CAOBISCO). The initiative aimed to reduce child labor by expanding access to education and improving living conditions for families involved in hazelnut farming. As a result, 1,022 children were prevented from working on farms, and $879,000 was allocated during the final two years.
  • Government Laws. Turkish law prohibits employing anyone younger than 18 in hazardous work. However, children as young as 14 who have completed compulsory education may perform light work that does not harm their physical or mental well-being, according to Arnold Stanley.

Looking Ahead

Child labor in Turkey continues to place children in dangerous working conditions on hazelnut farms. However, progress through government laws, summer school initiatives and funded programs has contributed to a reduction in child labor in the agricultural sector. On March 30, 2012, the Turkish government increased the compulsory education age from eight to 12 years, helping ensure children can remain in school rather than enter the workforce at an early age.

– Zara Ashraf

Zara is based in London, UK and focuses on Good News and Technology for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Education Programs Cuts Child Labor in Peru

Child Labor in PeruPeru has long grappled with child labor, especially in rural and indigenous communities where poverty is pervasive. Yet, recent educational investments, including bilingual schooling, conditional cash transfers and information-based programs, are helping reverse this troubling trend.

Persistent Poverty and Its Impact on Child Labor

Poverty remains a key driver of child labor in Peru. While the country has made significant progress in reducing poverty, dropping from 58.7% in 2004 to 20.5% in 2018, significant challenges remain. Millions were lifted out of poverty through economic growth and policy reform, yet recent setbacks highlight how fragile these gains are. In 2022, poverty rose amid the pandemic and the number of child laborers increased by roughly 210,000 compared to 2019, reaching 870,000 children and adolescents nationwide.

The issue has deep roots. In 2013, nearly 1.8 million children aged 5 to 17 were working, almost one in four nationwide. More than half of these working children in the 5–13 age bracket came from impoverished households, compared to just 27% of their nonworking peers. Child labor in Peru is concentrated in agriculture, fishing and mining, with rural children disproportionately affected. They are also far more likely to balance school with work than their urban counterparts (39.6% vs. 9.5%).

Bilingual Education’s Strong Effects

Peru’s bilingual education reform has had a notable impact on child labor, especially among indigenous children. A study using data from the Young Lives Study and a difference-in-difference analysis found that access to education delivered in indigenous languages reduced the likelihood of child labor by 12 to 18 percentage points for those children.

Conditional Cash Transfers Encourage Schooling

Peru’s conditional cash transfer program, JUNTOS, launched in 2005, provides families with regular financial support of about $30. The program requires children to attend school and receive basic health checkups. These transfers help alleviate the immediate economic pressures that push children into labor and support human capital development.

One evaluation found that such social protection mechanisms are among the most effective means to promote schooling and thus curb child labor over the long term.

Boosting Education Through Information Campaigns

The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with researchers from Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), piloted two low-cost interventions to inform families about the return to education. These included telenovela-style videos and an interactive tablet app used in schools.

The results were promising: the video series reduced two-year dropout rates by 1.8 percentage points (an 18.85% decrease) in urban areas and families updated long-term educational plans, becoming 10% more likely to aim for higher education. Effects on child labor were mixed: the video reduced child labor by 15% among urban girls, while the app reduced child labor by 7% among rural sixth graders.

Conclusion: Education as a Beacon of Hope

Peru’s concerted efforts, from bilingual schooling and cash transfers to informational campaigns, yield tangible progress in reducing child labor and expanding educational access. Especially in marginalized communities, these strategies are key to breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Sustained investment and scaling up successful interventions offer a powerful path forward toward safeguarding children’s rights and building a more equitable future.

– Alexander Broermann

Alexander is based in Frankfurt, Germany and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Mica Mining in Madagascar: Ending Child Labor

Mica Mining in MadagascarMadagascar, an island nation off the coast of Africa, has one of the world’s highest poverty rates, with 80.7% of its population living in poverty. This economic hardship has contributed to widespread child labor in the country’s mica mining industry. Due to weak regulations and poor enforcement of labor laws in Madagascar, an estimated 10,000 children are being exploited in mica mining.

What Is the Issue?

Mica mining is dangerous as there is a risk of “landslides, burial, physical injuries from falling into holes, respiratory infections, suffocation, ocular infections and blindness due to mica particles.” Beyond the physical dangers, child labor in the mines also deprives children of education, limiting their future opportunities.

The mica mining industry in Madagascar lacks the legal frameworks that help protect its workers and sustain the business. The volumes of mica collected in Madagascar “are exported to China at relatively low prices that lead to uneven value distribution.” This means that the people working in mines get paid lower wages and are forced to send their children to work.

Solutions

The financial burden placed on these families helps explain why it was “found that cash transfers were the most effective basis among various programmes that aim to improve access to education.” Having the finances to send children to school could significantly reduce the number of children forced into mica mining in Madagascar.

The Madagascar Shines project is a program dedicated to improving the mica mining industry in Madagascar and reducing child labor. It aims to help communities “through community engagement, coordination and capacity building.” The program was funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. Its strategy targets improvement through various areas such as households and livelihood services, officials, organizations, public awareness and more.

Empowering Women

Women’s income has been shown to have a direct positive impact on their families. Building on this approach, Pact, a nonprofit organization committed to reducing child labor in mining, implements its WORTH community banking program to empower women by helping them save money, generate income and develop new skills. The program also provides key information on positive parenting, the importance of education and the dangers of child labor. By supporting women, these efforts can ultimately help reduce the number of children working in Madagascar’s mica mining industry.

Providing child care services is a crucial way to support women and their children. The nonprofit Pact is exploring two child care program models to ensure children have a safe place to go. One model involves services promoted by the private sector and local authorities. At the same time, the other would be supported by mica processing centers committed to offering safe child care options for their employees.

Good News

Positive changes are already being made to improve mica mining in Madagascar. Some mica processing centers have already agreed to undergo an analysis to implement child care centers. Additionally, “parents of 265 children in four mining communities have agreed to enroll their children in child care centers.” These are promising signs of these centers’ need for and future success.

Targeting women to reduce child labor is also showing results, as “approximately 200 women from mica households are now members of WORTH groups.” Women are being taught how to use their wages best to support their families. This will decrease the need to send children to mines. They are also learning about the importance of education for their children and the best ways to take care of their futures.

The lives of children are already being impacted, as “about 500 children are now out of mining and supported with direct educational services.” “Approximately 1,500 children from mica communities are also maintained in school.” Mica mining in Madagascar is still a significant issue impacting many families. However, there is hope for progress to be made. Continued support and awareness of this issue is vital to its continued success.

– Sydney Morrow

Sydney is based in London, UK and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Child Labor in Pakistan: From Factories to Classrooms

child labor in pakistanIn 2021, Pakistan made minimal progress in combating the worst forms of child labor, despite some positive legislative efforts. Key developments included the passage of laws in Balochistan prohibiting hazardous work for children under 14, banning corporal punishment of children, and establishing special courts dedicated to child protection. Moreover, the Federal Investigative Authority trained law enforcement agencies, and more than 1,000 children were rescued from begging in Punjab. However, Pakistan’s advancement remained minimal due to practices that hindered significant progress.

To address this issue, vocational training programs are trying to reduce child labor in Pakistan. These programs focus on equipping children with practical, market-driven skills to enhance their employability as they transition into adulthood. Training in various fields allows these children to acquire skills that are in high demand, giving them a chance to secure stable, better-paying jobs.

Vocational Training Reducing Child Labor in Pakistan

The Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Program (PMYSDP) plays a pivotal role in providing vocational training opportunities for Pakistan’s youth. By focusing on both high-tech and conventional skills, the program equips young people with market-driven expertise, enabling them to transition from exploitative labor conditions into stable and dignified employment. Through these efforts, PMYSDP could not only help curb child labor in Pakistan but also empower young individuals to improve their socio-economic standing and contribute to the future development of Pakistan.

The Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal School for Rehabilitation of Child Labor, established in 1995, aims to remove children aged 5-14 from hazardous labor and provide them with free education, clothing and a stipend, along with subsistence support for their families. With 159 centers across the country, the program currently benefits 17,871 students. The program helps children from industries like brick kilns, mining and agriculture enroll in schools and receive primary education over four years, with opportunities for higher education.

The joint projects on eliminating child labor in Pakistan have implemented successful strategies, including the use of a unified non-formal education curriculum across districts for consistency and scalability. Furthermore, collaborating with government partners and using the Supporting Children’s Rights through Education, the Arts, and the Media (SCREAM) initiative for teacher training has fostered ownership and improved program delivery. A key achievement is extending pre-vocational and vocational training to working children, including those under 12 and their mothers, offering alternatives to child labor. Involving mothers has empowered them and strengthened their commitment to ensuring their children attend training programs regularly.

Making a Change

In conclusion, Pakistan is making progress in the fight against child labor through education, skills training and empowering families. Programs like the Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Program and Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal are giving children the tools to break free from exploitative work and build brighter futures. Indeed with continued commitment to enforcement and support for vocational training, Pakistan can create lasting change, transforming the lives of its youth and unlocking their potential for a better tomorrow.

– Aneela Agha

Aneela is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and focuses on Technology and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Child Poverty in Timor-Leste

Child Poverty in Timor-LesteSince its independence in May 2002, Timor-Leste has made significant progress in expanding its economy and improving its standards of living through various efforts such as rebuilding public infrastructures and institutional frameworks. Today, Timor-Leste, with around 1.3 million people, is a peaceful nation. However, the aftermath of decades of conflicts and other factors like natural disasters persists, as shown by the poverty measure with the national poverty line. Though it has been on the decline, in 2024, 42% of families in Timor-Leste are living in poverty according to the United Nations. Among them, children are the most vulnerable group when it comes to poverty. Fortunately, some efforts are underway to eliminate child poverty in Timor-Leste.

Poverty

According to Timor-Leste’s own country-specific measurement of multidimensional poverty, young children have the highest multidimensional poverty rates, meaning that the children do not have enough access to quality education, health care and nutrition.

Education

According to UNICEF, only 20% of children who are of the age for preschool are enrolled in school and 70% of students in the first grade do not meet basic learning standards. Moreover, educational institutions face challenges due to insufficient necessities as well such as bathrooms and drinking water. 

To address this room for improvement, UNICEF has been working with the government to formalize quality standards for preschool and basic education and an Early Childhood Development Policy. Additionally, UNICEF also advocated for Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Education to establish the Basic Law of Education in 2008, the  National Policy Framework for Preschool Education in 2014, the Basic Education Law in 2010,  the WASH in Schools Guidelines in 2016 and the Inclusive Education Policy in 2017. These efforts for improvements in education and equity will contribute to a higher rate of quality education along with an increase in individual earnings. This will eventually contribute to solving poverty and increasing domestic product per capita in Timor-Leste.

Child Labor

Instead, many children in Timor-Leste work as child laborers to make a living for their families and to buy necessities. According to the United Nations, one child named Ano from Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, spends nine hours daily selling popcorn and other snacks to subsidize his family’s income. This is not just a problem surrounding one child. UNICEF and ILO jointly announced in their report that around 10% of 5-12 aged children in Timor-Leste work to support their families.

The government of Timor-Leste acknowledged the issue of child labor by ratifying Convention No. 182, an international agreement in 1999, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2003 with a goal of eliminating any form of child abuse. Other organizations such as UNICEF have also worked to advocate for child rights and eliminate child labor in Timor-Leste.

Nutrition

Food deficits and malnutrition are also problems in Timor-Leste. The World Food Programme (WFP) reported that around 47% of the children five years old and under are stunted and 8.6% of children are suffering from malnutrition. Additionally, 23% of women from age 15 to 49 are anemic, which means they do not have enough red blood cells needed to distribute oxygen to the body’s tissues.

To combat malnutrition, WFP has provided technical support to the government of Timor-Leste to produce fortified food filled with minerals and vitamins for vulnerable families. It has also developed an efficient supply chain management system to ensure that the food reaches households that need the most assistance. Subsequently, in 2022, WFP provided fortified rice to approximately 79,000 children in more than 400 schools in Timor-Leste  through a school program.

Health Care

Due to low access to health care systems, maternal and under-5 mortality rates are the highest in Southeast Asia. In terms of vaccination, a UNICEF report from 2016 indicated that only 49% of children (12-29 months) had obtained all of their vaccinations. Moreover, about 88% of health care facilities in Timor-Leste lack emergency care for women and newborns. These problems are mainly due to limited workforce, supply chains and public financing.

In order to save the lives of children by improving health care systems, many organizations and governments have carried out various efforts. USAID endeavors to expand health care across Timor-Leste and improve the support of infants, children and women. USAID assisted the Ministry of Health in facilitating health promotion sessions including hygiene and nutrition education for 11,317 people. UNICEF also seeks to strengthen health care worker networks and workforces in Timor-Leste along with advocacy for vaccination programs. By 2025, its goal is to increase the number of skilled health care professionals during birth from 55% to 70% and reach 150,000 people at health care promotion activities and health care facilities.

Looking Forward

It was a short period after Timor-Leste became a sovereign state in 2002. Since, there has been a continuous effort made by governments, various organizations and individuals to mitigate the problem of child poverty in Timor-Leste and improve the lives of children. When these collective actions worldwide support its long-lasting growth in Timor-Leste, child poverty in Timor-Leste will gradually decline with more children living the fulfilling lives they deserve. As Helen Keller said, “Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other’s welfare, social justice can never be attained.”

– Sein Kim

Sein is based in Bellevue, WA, USA and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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No Child Left Behind: Child Labor in Myanmar

Child Labor in MyanmarChild labor in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been a problem in the country for many years. Some efforts have been made to reform this issue in the past, yet the numbers remain high. However, new initiatives and legislation provide a hopeful outlook for Myanmar’s children’s future.

Child Labor

Child Labor takes many shapes and children across the world are exploited in a variety of ways. In Myanmar, child labor is primarily used for agriculture, services and manufacturing. Regarding the statistics, the Ballard Brief verifies child labor as “58.3% in the agriculture division, 24.2% in the services division and 17.5% in the industrial division.”

Furthermore, the International Labor Organization (ILO), whose work in Myanmar is extensive, illustrates that “one in every 11 children in Myanmar is trapped in child labor – deprived of their childhood, health and education.” These numbers remain staggering but contextually are promising as they steadily decrease.

The Cause and Conditions

It is no secret that high poverty levels drive all family members to pursue a source of income. The higher the poverty in Myanmar, the more prevalent child labor will be in Myanmar. Addressing the issue of poverty is another way to protect the children of Myanmar, not only from dangers in the workforce but also from the dangers of lacking basic human necessities.

An article published by the United Nations (U.N.) in Myanmar has determined that “Poverty and crises are key to driving children into work.” The article stated specifically that “children in Myanmar between 5 and 17 years old are trapped in child labor, with more than half of them involved in hazardous work that directly endangers their health, safety and moral development.”

Understanding the causes of child labor assists governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and everyday people in developing quality solutions.

What’s Being Done

Many promising efforts are underway and currently in progress to tackle child labor. Myanmar has now ratified both International Conventions on child labor and the ILO’s on-the-ground projects have reduced child labor by 55% in three years in three pilot areas. In light of the significant reduction in these pilot areas, there is hope that once expanded, child labor will decrease.

Additionally, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is making significant strides to assist the children of Myanmar. UNICEF combats child labor in Myanmar by supporting government policy reforms and advocating for stronger child protection laws. It promotes access to quality education to keep children in school and away from labor.

Though child labor remains a significant challenge, the solutions are continually evolving and expanding. This growing momentum by Myanmar’s government and NGOs will help to eradicate child labor in the country.

– Abigail Johnson

Abigail is based in Oklahoma, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Education to prevent child labor in Bolivia

child labor In BoliviaIn Bolivia, “one of the poorest nations in Latin America,” children face alarming levels of monetary poverty, affecting 48% of children overall and disproportionately impacting 65% of indigenous girls. These figures starkly contrast with the high national poverty rate of 36.4% and an extreme poverty rate of 11.1% recorded in 2021. These circumstances fuel the widespread prevalence of child labor in Bolivia, with 286,890 children aged 7-14 working as of 2022, many of them working in the mining industry.

With global silver demand surging by 18% in 2023, mining companies are turning their attention to Bolivia, a country that formerly supplied 20% of the world’s silver. However, historical Spanish involvement in Bolivia’s silver mining has tarnished its reputation with exploitation. Consequently, efforts to prevent a potential increase in child labor in Bolivia and the mining industry are underway through educational initiatives led by organizations such as PASOCAP.

History of Mining

Cerro Rico, meaning Rich Mountain, towers over the city of Potosí and is famous for the world’s “richest silver deposit” discovered in 1545. During the Spanish conquest in 1532, the Spanish exploited indigenous expertise through the mita, a forced labor practice that resulted in a significant decline in the Andean indigenous population while funding the expansion of the Spanish empire.

Toxic dust and fumes exposed miners to perilous conditions, which earned Cerro Rico the name “The Mountain That Eats Men.” Estimates suggest that the forced labor at the mine claimed the lives of 8 million indigenous people and African slaves. Despite the arrival of the liberator Simon Bolivar in 1825, the mita persisted until its abolition in 1832, according to Kris Lane’s study.

Mining in Bolivia Today

Mining continues to be the primary economic activity in Potosí. However, with much of the wealth and resources already extracted, families face financial struggles, relying on the scant earnings from what remains of the plundered riches. In the past, UNICEF has stated that poverty and family breakdown are the primary causes pushing children into mining labor. Despite the Bolivian government’s classification of mining as one of the worst forms of child labor in Bolivia for its impact on health and education, according to a 2022 report, children are compelled to take risks and make sacrifices to support their families’ livelihoods.

Children who are as young as 15 have contracted silicosis, a lung disease that exposure to silica dust causes, resulting in symptoms such as fatigue, coughing, loss of appetite and death. ABC News reveals that a lack of investment and safety inspections has led to inadequate safety measures, including insufficient safety gear, power and ventilation. Additionally, miners face other hazards such as toxic gases, mine collapses, dynamite handling and electrocution from outdated machinery, according to a 2023 report. These conditions perpetuate a cycle of poverty and miners’ low life expectancy of about 45 years.

Education for the Elimination of Child Labor

Nadia Alejandra Cruz Tarifa, the Vice Minister of Equal Opportunities at Bolivia’s Ministry of Justice and International Transparency, shed light on the significant role poverty plays in driving child labor in Bolivia during her address to the 2023 Committee on the Rights of the Child.

During her speech, she emphasized the pivotal link between education and poverty elimination in Bolivia, stressing the prevalence of school dropouts as a significant challenge for the state. She applauded the effectiveness of the Juancito Pinto bonus, a government initiative that offers annual monetary incentives to students and their families, successfully encouraging millions to stay in school, OHCHR reports. By addressing financial struggles, this initiative allows students to pursue education rather than resorting to hazardous labor like mining.

The Work of PASOCAP

After a decade of dedicated effort, PASOCAP collaborated with the working children of Potosí, establishing a dedicated day of commemoration for the dignity of working children in the city on December 8. This milestone also includes the enactment of Municipal Law No. 419, regulating fund allocation for initiatives addressing protection and prevention issues concerning working children. PASOCAPS’s Casa NAT’s program enabled this achievement by empowering young children to act as agents of change, exercising their citizenship and contributing to sustainable development.

Among the institution’s many initiatives is the InterSol Program, which targets “families, guards, watchmen, children, adolescents and young people” living and working alongside Cerro Rico. It aims to empower individuals regarding their constitutional and labor rights through workshops, emphasising laws safeguarding children and women while disseminating strategies to combat child abuse and reduce child labor in Bolivia.

Another initiative, “Protagonists of Peace” supports children struggling with violence, social disadvantage and the direct impacts of mining activities. It aims to equip them with life skills, enhance opportunities and promote advocacy for their rights. The primary goal is to improve the living standards of children and families linked to mining through comprehensive training, empowering them to influence municipal policies. Additionally, the project prioritizes health and nutrition, ensuring access to primary health care services for participants.

Instead of consigning children to work in the mines of Cerro Rico, PASOCAP is providing them with opportunities to challenge the industry’s structures and develop skills that offer genuine and sustainable alternatives that break the cycle of poverty. The Cerro Rico silver mines provide a microcosm through which to examine the high rates of child poverty and child labor in Bolivia. Acknowledging the efforts of institutions like PASOCAP in protecting children is crucial in light of potential future mining activities in the country.

– Ben Miley-Smith
Photo: Wikimedia Commons