Child Labor in Africa : Issues and Challenges

Andvig, Jens; Canagarajah, Sudharshan; Kielland, Anne

Child Labor in Africa : Issues and Challenges

2001

Andvig, Jens | Canagarajah, Sudharshan | Kielland, Anne

How serious is the issue of child labor in Sub-Saharan Africa? Many African experts consider it to be no problem, while others believe it to be more serious than anywhere else in the world. A cursory glance at the statistics supports either view. ILO data indicate that more than 40 percent of African children work--almost twice as many as in Asia. On the other hand, household surveys suggest that over 95 percent of child labor takes place in and around private households. African society places a high value on children working at home or the family farm. This is not seen as "harmful" or as a welfare issue--a view opposed by many Western countries. This article explores the normative and factual basis for the different perceptions of child labor in Africa, and provides grounds effective social protection policies. Both welfare economic research and findings of sociological and anthropological studies have been reviewed.

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AGROVOC Keywords

capacity building child care child welfare families family farms formal education international law legislation parents social protection water supply

Bibliographic information

Publisher

World Bank, Washington, DC

Other Subjects

Child rights; Child-care benefits; Forms of child labor; Right to education; Orphans; Commercial agriculture; Protecting children; Early childhood development; Labor markets; Prostitution; Child protection; Child slavery; Domestic service; Slavery; Social protection systems abuse; Mothers' education; Hours of work; Road maintenance; Labor demand; Soldiers; Domestic labor; School hours; Labor market; Child labor issues; School children; Early child development; Vulnerable groups; School feeding programs; Child labor; Child workers; Water supply systems; Begging; Refugee children; Access to schools; Work long hours; Technical assistance; Vocational skills; Social protection policies; International child labor; Labor force; Worst forms of child labor; School enrollment; Survival prospects; Child prostitution; Private households; Family farm; Early child development programs; Child labor laws; Farm work

License

Africa Region Findings & Good Practice Infobriefs; No. 194http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/World BankCC BY 3.0 Unported

Source

Africa Region Findings & Good Practice Infobriefs; No. 194

In AGRIS since: 2014-09-15

Format: AGRIS AP

Data Provider

This bibliographic record has been provided by World Bank

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Links

http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9791

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