Last year, nearly 138 million children worked in child labor worldwide – including around 54 million in dangerous work, which could endanger their health, safety or development. This stems from new estimates, which were published on Wednesday by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Kinderhulp of the United Nations.
According to UNICEF and ILO, the current data shows a reduction of more than 20 million children since 2020, the report entitled “Child Labor: Global Estimations 2024, Trends and the Road Forward” (“Child Labor: Global Estimations 2024, Trends and the Road” are still derailed to play and on their child’s progress.
Strong falls in Asia, little in Africa
According to the report, Asia and the Pacific Room have registered the significant decrease from 49 million to 28 million children since 2020, in Latin -America and the Caribbean, the total number of affected children from eight to about seven million reduced.
Subsaharan Africa, on the other hand, continues to bear the largest load and is good for almost two -thirds of all children in children’s labor labor 87 million. Although the share fell from 24 to 22 percent, the absolute number remained almost unchanged due to population growth, persistent and new conflicts, extreme poverty and overloaded social systems.
Most of child labor in agriculture
According to the data, agriculture remains the largest child labor sector with 61 percent of all cases, followed by services (27 percent) such as domestic work and the sale of goods in markets and industry (13 percent), including mining and production. Boys are more often affected by child labor in all age groups than girls – but if the unpaid homework of 21 hours or more is included per week, this difference will be reversed according to the report.
Total number almost halved since 2000, but goals have failed
The number of children has almost halved since 2000 – from 246 million to 138 million. However, progress is too slow and the purpose of full abolition was missed by 2025, complaining about Unicef and ILO. To end child labor within the next five years, the current pace must be eleven times as fast.
“The results of our report give hope and show that progress is possible,” says Gilbert F. Hungbo, general manager of the ILO, when presenting the report. “Children belong to school – not to work. Parents must also be supported and have access to decent work, so that they can send their children to lessons and do not have to let their children work in markets or in family businesses to survive. But we should not close our eyes for the fact that there is still a long way to get our goal of child labor.”
Organizations ask governments to act
The organizations warn that sustainable and reinforced resources – both worldwide and nationally – are more necessary than ever to maintain recent successes. Cutbacks in the support of education, social security systems and resources of existence can continue to drive the limited famous families and some force their children to send to work. At the same time, a falling investment in data collection makes visibility and combating the problem.
Om de vooruitgang te versnellen, vragen UNICEF en de IAO de regeringen om te investeren in socialezekerheidssystemen voor bedreigde huishoudens, het versterken van kinderbeschermingssystemen, om te zorgen voor universele toegang tot hoog -kwaliteitseducatie, om te zorgen voor een menselijke werkzaamheden voor volwassenen en adolescenten en om wetten te beweren en de verantwoordelijkheid te nemen om kinderen in de wereldwijde leveringsketens te end.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
