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Ghana releases report on child labour
in cocoa industry
Accra, June 26, GNA – The National Programme for the
Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa (NPECLC)
coordinated by the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and
Employment has released two reports in relation to
eliminating worst forms of child labour in cocoa.
A press statement on Thursday said the two reports; the
Cocoa Labour Survey in Ghana also called scale-up survey and
the Hazardous Child Labour Activity Framework, (HAF) were
reviewed at a separate key stakeholder meetings about three
weeks ago.
It said the survey was conducted in the current 2007/2008
cocoa season as a scale up to a pilot survey conducted in
2006 covering 15 cocoa-growing administrative districts
within the six cocoa-growing regions that accounted for
60%of cocoa production in Ghana.
It said as part of a National Child Labour Activity
Framework being developed for all sectors, HAF was also
developed to clearly spell out hazardous conditions of cocoa
related activities and determine which ones children should
or not perform.
Over 1,700 households, 3,452 children aged between 5 and 17
and 1,391 adults were interviewed as well as 66 focus group
discussions involving children and adults were conducted by
a team of researchers drawn from the Department of
Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness of the University of
Ghana, Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, Ghana Statistical
Service, Employment Information Bureau, the University Ghana
Medical School and Civil Society Organizations undertook the
research which covered it said.
The survey examined specific economic and demographic
information on the cocoa sector, child and adult working
practices in addition to detailed description of legal
frameworks and remediation activities to promote child
welfare with analyses and recommendations to improve
occupational health and family welfare within the cocoa
communities in the country.
It said the government was committed to eliminating worst
forms of child labour in cocoa and other sectors as a sure
means to achieve overall child development.
The government commended COCOBOD for committing funds for
the NPECLC to expand remediation activities to uncovered
districts, the World Cocoa Foundation for supporting the
survey and UNICEF and the Royal Danish Embassy for
supporting remediation activities. Government also expressed
appreciation to the support by district assemblies and civil
society organizations working to ensure the practice is
eliminated.
GNA
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