Resources

This paper presents findings from two studies focussed on the Malawi Social Cash Transfer Programme. It presents evidence that the programme increases child engagement in economic activities, but that is also results in benefits including higher school participation and better physical health.

Produced by the Understanding Children’s Work (UCW) programme, the ILO research partnership with UNICEF and the World Bank on child labour and related issues, this report is aimed at helping to explain the recent trends in child labour.

In Côte d’Ivoire, older children (defined here as aged 12-17) face a number of challenges in post-primary education. Underperformance is an issue with enrolment and completion rates remaining low and quality of education needing improvement. Access to education is low for girls, poor families and those living in rural areas. Improving quality of and access to education would yield significant benefits. Cocoa-producing areas, in particular, would benefit in terms of reduced poverty, better employment prospects and the reduction of child labour.

In Ghana’s cocoa-growing communities, older children aged 15 to 17 are most at risk of hazardous child labour. Limited opportunities to attend senior secondary school or Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) mean that older children instead engage in cocoa farming, where they are at risk of hazardous child labour involvement. Higher levels of educational attainment play a critical role in reducing both child labour and household poverty.

The United States Department of Labor published its 2017 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Côte d’Ivoire. In 2017, Côte d’Ivoire made a significant advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour.