Eradicationg Child Labour in Uganda

The project will contribute to eradicating child labour in Uganda, protecting children in over 12,000 families. The project will focus on two regions of Uganda where child labour is very common. 1. Busoga sub-region (Jinja, Bugiri, Kaliro and Iganga) has the highest rate of child labour in the country, with 38% of children in work, and agriculture the main sector (UNICEF’s Child Poverty report 2019), particularly in sugarcane and rice production, as children are a source of cheap labour with the nature of the work extremely hazardous. 2. Central region, specifically Greater Kampala Metropolitan area. Older children migrate from the rural areas to seek paid employment in a number of informal sector activities including petty trading, domestic work, trading, hawking, bar and restaurant work, and prostitution; 88.8% of working children in Kampala are involved in hazardous work, 53.4% are paid child labourers (street vendors, porters, scrap collectors) (National Labour Force and Child Activity Report, 2012). In both areas, poverty is one of the main drivers of child labour. This situation has worsened with the outbreak of COVID-19 due to the strong measures undertaken by the Government of Uganda including lockdown of the economy to control the spread of the virus. Poor understanding of child rights and the legal framework which could protect them amongst both rights holders and duty bearers is a further barrier to sustained change. The project will enable over 12,000 families to be more resilient in the face of recruitment to child labour though increasing understanding on preventing and combating child labour - with community taskforces, sensitised duty bearers, and awareness-raising in the media. It will strengthen social protection of targeted families, improving incomes and access to skills, establish public/private partnerships including a child-free zone in UMA Industrial Park; thus improving the implementation of ILO conventions on child labour.