Celebrating World Day against Child Labour, June 12

The World Day against Child Labour will be commemorated on Friday, 12 June 2020. The Day will focus on the impact of Covid 19 on children. The Covid 19 pandemic and the resulting economic, education and social disruptions are having a huge impact on people’s lives. Children are often the first to suffer from such disruptions. Worse still, the crisis is likely to push millions of vulnerable children into child labour.

Some 152 million children between the ages of 5-17 were in child labour with almost half of them – 73 million – in hazardous child labour. This category of children are now at greater risk of facing circumstances that are even more difficult and hazardous to their health than ever before.

Almost half (48%) of the victims of child labour were aged 5-11; 28% were 12-14 years old; and 24% were 15-17 years old. Child labour is concentrated primarily in agriculture (71%) – this includes fishing, forestry, livestock herding and aquaculture – 17% in services; and 12% in the industrial sector including mining.

Over the years, ANPPCAN has implemented programmes to address child labour primarily by preventing child labour, withdrawing children in labour situations and placing them in school and working with Government Departments and development partners in the development of national plans of actions, policies and laws aimed at lessening and eventually stopping child labour.

ANPPCAN and other stakeholders will be celebrating the Day amid the effects of the Coronavirus disease. Since it is going to be a challenge to organize activities the way we always do to celebrate the Day because of the pandemic, we plan to create awareness about the impact of Covid 19 pandemic on children, more so those in the most vulnerable situations, who are likely to be at risk or victims of child labour and child trafficking

To this end, we plan to organize an online campaign during this period of World Day against Child Labour to increase awareness of the child labour. We would be happy if you could join us in the online campaign, by interacting with our posts that will be shared via our Facebook and Twitter starting today until 12 June.

We also have numerous publications on studies we have done on child labour and trafficking posted in our Website and many photos showing the communities where we work in on child labour and child trafficking in Kenya. You are also invited to visit sites of some of ANPPCAN Chapters as some are also concerned about the pandemic and how it is affecting children in vulnerability.

We will appreciate if you can join us in the campaign so that, as many people, as possible are reached and alerted of the changing and increasing dimensions of child labour in this challenging and uncertain times we are in.

We appreciate your continued support.

Thank you,

Bernard Morara
Programme Officer
www.anppcan.org