The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has called for increased efforts to end child labour, especially in sectors such as cocoa farming and artisanal mining in the country.
Dr Vanessa Phala-Moyo, Country Director of the ILO Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone made the call during the commemoration of the 2025 World Day Against Child Labour in Minna, Niger State.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Progress is Clear, But there’s More to Do: Let’s Speed Up Efforts!, End Child Labour’, she noted the need for collective action to protect children’s rights and prevent exploitation.
“There is need for strict measures against child labour and priorities high-risk sectors like cocoa farms and artisanal mining that requires stakeholders collaboration to combat it in the country,” the country director stated.
Phala-Moy, who spoke through Mrs Celine Oni, National Coordinator of Accelerating Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Supply Chains in Africa (ACCEL Africa) Project, stressed that child labour is a breach of the fundamental human rights of children, boys, girls, adolescents and youths.
“We must work to accelerate efforts to institute zero tolerance for child labour in our cocoa farms, in artisanal mining and in our society,” she said.
According to her, a new research by ILO and UNICEF revealed that child labour had decreased from 160 million to 138 million in four years.
“Child labour prevalence has dropped from 9.6 per cent to 7.8 per cent. In Latin America, we saw a drop by 11 per cent while Sub-Saharan Africa saw a 10 per cent drop,” she maintained.
Hajiya Hauwa Zakariya, Niger State Controller, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, as well as Hajiya Hadiza Sheru, Permanent Secretary, Niger Ministry for Women Affairs and Social Development, commended partner’s efforts in the fight against child labour while calling for more from stakeholders in Niger State and the country at large in tackling the menace.
