The International Labour Organization, (ILO) has disclosed that a total of 92 million children in Africa are currently engaged in child labour.
According to the organisation, out of the 92 million, 40 million are girls and 52 million boys.
It further disclosed that the practice is more prominent in rural areas.
Speaking at a forum in Accra to commemorate World Day Against Child Labour, the National Project Manager for the I.L.O, Madam Akua Ofori Asumadu, said the statistics paint a bad picture of the situation.
“There are now more children in sub-Saharan Africa than the rest of the world combined. Although there has been some progress between the ages of 12 to 14, 15 to 17, child labour in both categories have decreased.”
“However, the latest estimates paint that 92 million children, 40 million girls, 52 million boys are in child labour in Africa.”
Global statistics
It is estimated that 152 million children between ages 5 to 17 are in child labour. Out of this, 64 million girls and 88 million boys are in child labour globally. This accounts for almost one in 10 children worldwide.
72.5 million, i.e. half of these children perform hazardous work that puts their health, safety or moral development at risk.
In Ghana, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), has called for more decisive actions aimed at dealing with the underlying factors leading to child labour in the country.
CHRAJ maintains that the menace can only be eradicated as one of Ghana’s major social issues if steps are taken in that regard.
In a statement signed by Joseph Whitall, Commissioner of CHRAJ, he noted that “child labour can be eliminated absolutely, and this year’s World Day Against Child Labour is a prompt reminder to us all, to aggressively work and engage collaboratively to end child labour now.”
“This call is firmly in support of Agenda 2030 as it envisions a world which invests in its children and in which every child grows up free from violence and exploitation” as well as the determined goal to end child labour in all its forms.”
“We must tackle the root causes of child labour by implementing the objectives of the NPA until the last child in Ghana is freed from child labour”, the statement said in parts.
To this end, the Commission commits to supporting the government in this journey by drawing the attention of all stakeholders to some critical issues in this conundrum.
