Child Labour In Cote D Ivoire

IH Assignment – Child Labour in Cote d’Ivoire There is an estimated 150 million children around the world who are engaged in child labour, with Sub-Saharan Africa having the highest incident rates (UNICEF, 2016). These children are being forced to work in environments harmful to them physically, mentally or socially, deprived of the opportunity to attend schools. More than 58.6%, 98 million, of the children involved in child labour are working for agricultural industries and the cocoa farming industry contributes a lot to it (International Labour Organisation, 2012). In 2013 to 2014, around 1,203,473 children were working on cocoa farms during the harvest season, most coming from West African countries such as Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. (Tulane

Although Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa exports in 2010 worthed around 2.5 billion dollars, most of the cocoa farmers earn less than US$0.50 a day, which is far below the global poverty line of US$1.90 a day (The World Bank, 2015). This is mainly because, most of the times, the large chocolate industries are the one who decide the prices of cocoa. Farmers have little power to bargain against them. In order to keep their cocoa prices competitive, they have to resort to child labour as due to its low wages given. Another cause of child labour in Cote d’Ivoire is the traditional mindsets of people that children should contribute to family farming as it can promote community spirit. They are often unaware of the hazards involved. 40% of child laborers in Cote d’Ivoire are deprived of opportunities to attend school (Food Empowerment Project, 2014). Most continue on without education until adulthood. This lack of education makes it hard for them to escape the poverty cycle after growing up. Other effects of child labour include the physical and mental scars inflicted upon the children when working. They suffer scars on their bodies and psychological fear from being a

In the social aspect, stopping child labour will lead to benefits such as higher living standard and better health for the households involved. This is because when children no longer need to work, they are able to attend school and receive education. In 2011, 53.6% of the children in Cote d’Ivoire between 5-14 years old were attending school (Global March, 2013). According to the First Lady of Cote d’Ivoire, the school enrollment rate of the children working in cocoa farms has increased significantly ever since measures were taken to eradicate child labour. Higher degree of education will give them a higher chance of being employed with wages sufficient to feed their family. This will provide the families of the child laborers with an opportunity to break free of the poverty cycle. When they are no longer living below the international poverty line, they will be able to improve their living