Stakeholders who gathered at the deliberation on the proper implemention of the Project-Accelerating action for the elimination of child labour in supply chains in Africa” (ACCEL Africa) in Uganda,have blamed the increasing child labour on persistent poverty in the households.
6.2 million children (40%) in Uganda, who are aged between 6 and 17 years, are engaged in child labour, according to the 2021 National Labour Force Survey (NLFS), that was released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) last week.
The report further indicated that largest share of this Child labour is prevalent in the Agriculture sector where children are employed as unpaid family workers. 19.5% of children in rural areas are engaged in child labour compared to 11.3% in urban areas.
“You find that families, which are doing business go and get the loans, but due to the stringness, they can’t hire outside and thus leading to employing of family members, where children are inclusive,”
stakeholders believe that the problem is mainly concentrated in rural areas and in the agricultural sector, including in commercial farming ( rice, tea, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco), the mining sector and the domestic sector.
Cooperatives are among the victims because it’s their members in this categories.
Patrick Serubula Ntambi, the Accel Project at the Uganda Cooperative Alliance (UCA) believes that the model will solve the problem.
“It focuses on the kind of tools widely recommended by ILO, we are reaching the grassroot level, we are incorporating the element of eliminating child labour in the operations of the Cooperatives,” he said
Edgar Aguilar, the Social Financial Officer and at the same time the Technical Officer at International Labour Organization (ILO) said.
“This will inevitably lead to child labour,” he added
“The ACCEL Africa Project is thus proposing a new Social Finance Model to combat this abuse and exploitation of children. In Uganda, the ACCEL Africa Project is targeted towards the Tea and Coffee supply chains with activations on strengthening livelihoods, raising awareness of child labour, integrating measures to eliminate child labour into economic activities, and providing access to financial and non-financial services,”
The pilot study of this project is currently being implemented in six districts including Kikuube, Hoima, Buikwe, Mbale, Sironko, Bulambuli and Kabarole, supporting more than 32000 beneficiaries both women and men as well as 41500 children from these households.
“As ILO we don’t support individual organisation but do roll out as pilot studies and if it works out, then the entire country benefits,” he said
Eric Nana Agyei the Managing Director of Mobipay Agrosys says that lack of Data is among the encouragers of child labour because if families are informed by statistics, the decisions are changed,
“For example of they know that we are the only one whose children are not going to school, it will inform them and they go,” he said
“Data will help families on how to get the affordable financing for their businesses and where other than loitering on profitable money lenders,”
