ILO demands collective actions against child labor

The International Labor Organization (ILO) on Thursday called for collaborative efforts to eliminate child labor, especially in cocoa farming and the artisanal mining sector.

The Director of the ILO office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Dr. Vanessa Phala-Moyo, made a call in a program to commemorate World Day 2025 against child labor in Minna, Niger state.

Phala-Moyo, who was represented in the forum by the National Coordinator of Acceleration of Actions for the Elimination of Child Workers in the Supply Chain Project in Africa (African Africa), Ny. Celine Oni, said child labor is a violation of fundamental human rights, adolescents and adolescents.

He said: “We must work to accelerate efforts to institutionalize zero tolerance for child labor in our cocoa farming, in mining artisanal and our society.”

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He added that ILO and UN Children’s Funds (UNICEF) on June 11 released a new global estimate about child labor, revealed a significant decline in the number of children involved in child labor and dangerous jobs.

“New research shows that child labor has declined from 160 million to 138 million in four years. All regions show progress, with an important decline in Latin America and Sub-Sahara Africa.

“The prevalence of child labor fell from 9.6 percent to 7.8 percent. Latin America has decreased by 11 percent while the sub-Sahara Africa has decreased by 10 percent.

“There is a need for strict steps for child labor and priority for high-risk sectors such as Cocoa Farms and Artisanal Mining, and collaboration of stakeholders to end child labor.”