Ghana’s efforts to tackle child labour during COVID-19 lauded

Accra-Ghana, Dec. 25, GNA – The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) has lauded Ghana and two other commonwealth countries for adopting innovative measures to minimise the incidents of child labour during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Ghana’s efforts to tackle child labour during the pandemic, like those of the other two countries (Sri Lanka as well as Trinidad and Tobago), proved to be innovative, adopted a multi-sectoral approach, and demonstratively contributed to eradicating child labour,” a report released by the CHRI to mark the International Human Solidarity Day, stated.
The new report, “Children, Not Workers: Community-based responses to child labour in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic”, showcases initiatives taken by governments, communities and civil society organisations to tackle rising cases of child labour during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana, Sri Lanka as well as Trinidad and Tobago.
CHRI’s latest report focuses on Ghana’s South Adansi district – where the cocoa-farming industry continues to employ child labour.
The report analyses joint intervention strategies implemented by government authorities and civil society organisations to sensitise and train communities on issues relating to child labour, and to ensure that children returned to school after COVID-19 measures were lifted.
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in 2021, there were 160 million child labourers worldwide.
The COVID-19 pandemic further increased the vulnerability of children to become victims of child labour, primarily due to disruption to schooling, disruption in family income, and reduced access to child protection services.
In June 2022 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), member states committed to secure the prohibition and elimination of all forms of child labour, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers, by 2025.
“However, there is still a long way to go before this aim is achieved,” the Initiative noted.
It lamented that despite national and international efforts, child labour remained one of the biggest challenges to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular, SDG Target 16.2 – which seeks to “end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children”.
The SDG Target 8.7 also calls for measures to “secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms”.
It said one of the biggest takeaways from the programmes implemented in the South Adansi District was that it was imperative for governments to work with civil society organisations to find innovative, and sustainable solutions to effectively address child labour and human trafficking in the Commonwealth.
The Report said having achieved tangible outcomes, the strategies were expected to inform the efforts of other Commonwealth states and civil society organisations working to eradicate child labour in other parts of the world.