News Release
US Department of Labor awards $4M grant to combat child labor in the West African agriculture sector
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $4 million award to support the International Labor Organization’s work to implement a technical assistance project in West Africa. The ILO will work with the government of Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States to catalyze regional, national and local action to address child labor in agriculture sectors and communities.
The ILO and UNICEF currently estimate that more children are working in child labor in Africa than in the rest of the world combined. In the West Africa region covered by ECOWAS, at least 23 percent of all children are estimated to be used as child labor. The project is part of the department’s continued effort to address unacceptable labor practices where evidence indicates they are most prevalent.
Administered by the department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, the project includes technical assistance to ECOWAS in support of its regional plan of action to address child labor.
Project work in Nigeria will support that government’s efforts to improve the legislative, enforcement and policy environment on child labor issues and promote local efforts to address child labor in cocoa-producing communities.
