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News Release

U.S. Department of Labor awards nearly $59 million
to eliminate exploitive child labor in 19 countries

WASHINGTONSecretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced nearly $59 million in grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor in fiscal year 2009 to combat exploitive child labor in 19 countries. The grants will help rescue more than 85,000 children from exploitive labor, and offer them hope for the future through education and training. The grants will also help improve collection and analysis of child labor data and support the development and implementation of national action plans to address the problem.

"Protecting children from exploitation and ensuring that their education and healthy development is not compromised is our moral duty," said Secretary of Labor, Hilda L.Solis. "With these new funds, we are furthering our commitment to working with the international community to find effective and lasting solutions to this global challenge."

In Africa, the department awarded $20.4 million in grants to combat exploitive child labor in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Zambia. Groups such as the International Labor Organization's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC), the International Rescue Committee, Winrock International and the Forum of African Women Educationalists will implement projects to address exploitive child labor in sectors such as cocoa, coffee, tea and sugar.

The department awarded $15.8 million for projects in Latin America. ILO-IPEC, Catholic Relief Services, Desarrollo y Autogestión and World Learning will implement projects in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Paraguay. A regional South America project will eliminate forced labor and child labor through improved labor inspections, education and sharing of best practices, including many developed in Brazil.

In Asia, $15.3 million was awarded for projects in India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines. Implementing organizations include ILO-IPEC, Save the Children, Terre Des Hommes, World Education and World Vision. These projects will combat child labor, including in the production of bricks and embroidered textiles, mining, domestic service, plantation agriculture, portering and commercial sexual exploitation.

A final $7.4 million in grants will support policy and research projects. In addition, the department awarded a $500,000 contract to the Center for Reflection, Education, and Action (CREA) to assist the department in identifying and disseminating best practices to eliminate child labor and forced labor in supply chains. CREA will work with a variety of stakeholders to develop a framework for evaluating business practices.

Since 1995, Congress has appropriated approximately $720 million to the Labor Department to support efforts to combat exploitive child labor internationally. As a result of that funding, the department has rescued approximately 1.3 million children from exploitive child labor. For more information, visit the department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs Web pages at http://www.dol.gov/ilab.

Editor's Note: A chart with information about the individual grants is below.

U.S. Department of Labor — Bureau of International Labor Affairs Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking FY 2009 Programming to Combat Exploitive Child Labor Internationally

COUNTRY

FUNDING LEVEL

PROJECT FOCUS

IMPLEMENTER

AFRICA

West Africa-ECOWAS (Direct Action in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana)

$7,950,000

Towards Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor (WFCL) in West Africa: Supporting and monitoring implementation of national action plans in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, the development of a national action plan in Nigeria, and strengthening sub-regional cooperation through ECOWAS

International Labor Organization's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC)

Kenya

$4,600,000

Support for the implementation of the Kenyan National Action Plan for the Elimination of the WFCL with special focus on agriculture and older children

ILO-IPEC

Malawi

$2,757,621

Project of Support to the National Action Plan to combat Child Labor in Malawi.

ILO-IPEC

Rwanda

$4,499,988

Combating the WFCL in agriculture

Winrock International in association with Forum of African Women Educationalists and SNV Netherlands Development Organization-Rwanda (SNV)

Sierra Leone and Liberia

$300,000

Cost increase of project to combat the WFCL

International Rescue Committee

Zambia

$292,379

Cost increase of project to combat the WFCL

ILO-IPEC

Subtotal AFRICA = $20,399,988

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Mexico

$4,750,000

"Stop Child Labor in Agriculture": Contribution to the prevention and elimination of child labor in Mexico, in particular the worst forms in the agricultural sector, with special focus on indigenous children and child labor as a result of internal migration

ILO-IPEC

Regional South America (Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay)

$6,750,000

Combating the WFCL through horizontal cooperation in South America (Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Ecuador)

ILO-IPEC

Guatemala

$4,199,601

Combating the WFCL and creating child labor free zones

Catholic Relief Services

Ecuador

$150,000

Cost increase of project to combat the WFCL among indigenous children

World Learning in association with Desarrollo y Autogestión

Subtotal LAC = $15,849,601

ASIA, MIDDLE EAST, EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA (ASIA/MENA)

Indonesia

$5,500,000

Combating the WFCL through an area based approach

Save the Children Federation in association with World Education

Nepal

$4,248,224

Combating the WFCL, with a focus on Forced Child Labor and Trafficking of Children into Commercial Sexual Exploitation

World Education in association with Terres des Hommes Foundation

Philippines

$4,750,000

Towards a Child Labor-Free Philippines: Supporting the ‘Philippine Program Against Child Labor' in Building on Past Gains and Addressing Challenges

ILO-IPEC

Indonesia

$200,000

Cost increase of project to combat the WFCL

ILO-IPEC

Pakistan

$50,000

Cost increase of project to combat the WFCL

Save the Children-UK

Philippines

$200,000

Cost increase of project to combat the WFCL

World Vision

South Asia Regional (India, Nepal, Pakistan)

$350,000

Cost increase for South Asia Carpets Research

Macro International

Subtotal ASIA/MENA = $15,298,224

Global/Multi-Region

Global

$3,000,000

Follow-up to the resolution on child labor statistics adopted at the 18th ICLS through methodological development and expansion of child labor data collection

ILO-IPEC

Global

$1,500,000

Cooperation to Address the WFCL in Agriculture: Support to the International Agricultural Partnership

ILO-IPEC

Global

$2,821,100

Support to the Global Action Plan, baseline surveys, evaluations, and project design and development

ILO-IPEC

Global

$125,000

Cost increase for research on forced labor in select countries

Verité

Subtotal Global = $7,446,100

GRAND TOTAL = $58,993,913

Agency
Bureau of International Labor Affairs
Date
September 28, 2009
Release Number
09-1113-NAT