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In partnership with the Paraguayan Ministry of Labor, Paraguay Okakuaa is strengthening the enforcement of labor laws in agriculture in the Department of Guairá and providing educational and livelihood opportunities for families vulnerable to child labor, particularly young women. And in response to the government’s political will to address forced labor, the project is now expanding efforts to the Chaco, a significant cattle- and beef-exporting region. By addressing labor issues in global supply chains, particularly in the beef sector, the project will help ensure a fair playing field for U.S. goods in global export markets.

In 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT) in the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), and funded contractor Mathematica to develop Resources for Quantitative Surveys on Child Labor. The goal of this project was to identify challenges and develop accessible guidance related to sampling, data collection and analysis for researchers. The resulting resources and videos can be used by researchers, including OCFT grantees, who want to conduct household-based surveys to understand the nature and prevalence of child labor in a given geographic area. This Department of Labor-funded study arose from ILAB’s learning agenda. It contributes to the labor evidence-base to inform ILAB grantee’ data collection design, analysis and reporting. Note: this project was funded by the he DOL Office of the Chief Evaluation Officer and no ILAB funds were used.

YPCA worked to improve livelihoods for at-risk youth to prevent their engagement in exploitative labor and the worst forms of child labor. The project provided at-risk youth with skills and education directly related to labor market needs in a safe learning environment; helped at-risk youth secure and retain employment; promotes youth employment through business partnerships; and strengthens government and community organizations’ ability to support relevant vocational training and employment opportunities for youth. In the aftermath of hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic, the project began meeting short-term and emergency needs of project participants, including providing supermarket vouchers and in-kind food and hygiene products to children engaged in the project. The project also provided start-up inputs and technical training to support the establishment of home gardens.

Our impact evaluation projects use rigorous quantitative techniques to evaluate the impact of interventions on reducing child labor, forced labor and human trafficking—part of a broader ILAB effort to build rigorous evidence on what works to secure and protect the rights of children and adults. Such evaluations support our partner governments’ evidence-based policymaking efforts, and also help identify proven strategies to inform ILAB’s future investments in global programs to combat child labor and forced labor.

This global, multi-country project sought to improve occupational safety and health issues of young workers, and to promote a culture of prevention of occupational illness and injury.  Programming placed a particular focus on those aged 15-24, who, as they join the workforce, may be positioned to contribute to a sustainable and prevention-focused OSH culture.    

This project built the capacity among national and local stakeholders to advocate for a reduction in child labor and forced labor and to promote fundamental principles and rights at work through the framework of the Decent Work Country Program agreement between the Government of Uzbekistan and the ILO.