The Malawi government and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have appealed to stakeholders to join forces in fight against Child Labour amidst Coronavirus pandemic.
Malawi, ILO made the calls on Friday as the globe commemorates World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL) under the theme COVID-19: Protect Children from Child Labour, now more than ever!.
In a statement, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Skills and Innovation, Esmie Kainja said stakeholders have a major role to play in fighting against Child Labour amidst the pandemic.
Kainja said the Coronavirus pandemic has the penitential of pushing millions of Children into child labour due to the closure of schools hence the need to join forces.
“…. We urge all players in the fight against child labour to take measures to protect children from falling into child labour due to impact of the pandemic,” said Kainja in statement
In a separate statement, Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO)’s Country Office for Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, George Okutho said Children are likely to suffer due to the effects of the pandemic.
“COVID-19 health pandemic and the resulting economic and labour market shock are having a huge impact on people’s lives and livelihoods. Unfortunately, children are often the first to suffer.
The crisis can push millions of vulnerable children into child labour. Globally, there are an estimated 152 million children in child labour, 72 million of which are in hazardous work.
These children are now at even greater risk of facing circumstances that are even more difficult and working longer hours” said Okutho
National Child Labour Survey (NCLS), conducted in 2015, found that 38 percent of children in Malawi aged 5 – 17 years are involved in child labour.
