ILO implements project on elimination of child labour in Birim South

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is implementing a programme dubbed: “Cocoa Community Project” (CCP) to eliminate the worst forms of Child Labour in Cocoa growing communities across the country.

The project is titled: “Towards Child Labour Free Cocoa Growing Communities in Cote D’lvoire and Ghana through an integrated area base approach.”

Mrs Stella Ofori, Principal Labour Officer, Child Labour Unit of the Labour Department of the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare, speaking at the end of a two-day district level consultative workshop for cocoa growing communities at Akyem Swedru in the Birim South of the Eastern Region, said the project was to identify communities for interventions and control groups for impact evaluation.

The event brought together 45 participants from various heads of departments, cocoa farmers, District Assembly and unit committee members and cooperative institutions.

She said it was to establish an inventory of available social interventions and other complementary services to which interventions might be linked.

In addition, it was to document the status of child labour interventions in the district plan, budgets, monitor and evaluate frameworks and other mechanism for sustainability.

Mrs Ofori said the CCP would contribute to the National Plan of Action (NPA) through the awareness raising and development of action plan for implementation by the communities and to institutional and technical capacity building to fill the gap of NPA implementation.

“The CPP would also support child labour monitoring systems to track the elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour through integrated approach,” she added.

The project would also provide enhanced livelihoods for sustainable productivity and Agricultural practices.

Ms Lalaina Ratafindrakoto, Resource Person from ILO, said the project was designated to host the Birim South District and three other districts namely, Suhum Kraboa Coalter and Twifo Hemang Lower Denkyira in the Central
Region and Wassa Amenfi West in the Western Region.

She urged stakeholders in the communities to ensure that they put in more effort to plan the project interventions in order to eliminate these forms of child labour.

She expressed the hope that, the efforts of participants would yield great results towards the targeted children and the communities.

Source: GNA