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[24 April 2007] - The International Labour Organisation (ILO), yesterday said over 6,000 children engaged in child labour had been withdrawn and rehabilitated in Nigeria and Ghana between 2004 and 2006. This was contained in a report on activities of the ILO in Africa, by the ILO Director-General, Mr Juan Somavia in Addis Ababa, at the 11th African Regional meeting, which began yesterday. He said the scale of child trafficking in the continent had remained a major challenge to the organisation. "The 2006 Global Report on child labour singles out Africa as the major world region with the least progress in tackling child labour, the highest incidence of child labour, and where the number of child workers actually increased over the period covered by the report. "In Nigeria and Ghana, over 6,000 child workers were withdrawn, rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society within the framework of USDOL-funded International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour project to combat Child Trafficking in West Africa," he quoted the report. Somavia said in Nigeria, out of the total number of children repatriated internally under the IPEC project, 99 were male while 151 were female; for those repatriated outside the country, 39 were male while 71 were female. He said under the project, the socio-economic status of over 600 parents and guardians of ex-child workers was enhanced through entrepreneurship training and in-kind support (working tools, equipment and materials). "Furthermore, over 140 law enforcement and judicial officers were trained on child trafficking legislation. A national advocacy strategy on child labour was developed in both countries, while a national policy is in progress in Nigeria," he said. Somavia said a child labour monitoring system was established in both countries and labour officers trained to manage the system. "The ILO is working with the government and social partners to conduct a survey on child labour in rubber plantations in South-West Nigeria," he said, adding that the Programme Against Forced Labour and Human Trafficking, which was funded by the United Kingdom, carried out in Nigeria and Ghana had yielded major achievements, including sustained awareness creation, baseline studies and capacity building of tripartite partners and law enforcement agencies. Further information:
pdf: http://allafrica.com/stories/200704240454.html