This project is designed with the goal of contributing to the reduction in the prevalence and scope of child labor in five sub cities in Addis Ababa and three towns in Amhara region by addressing the root causes of the exploitive child labor problem.
The 2015 Ethiopia National Child Labor Survey issued in a report by ILO in April 2018 showed that 42.7% of all Ethiopian children between the ages of 5 and 17 were engaged in some form of child labor. According to the ILO, child labor is work that threatens or impairs children’s wellbeing (physical, social, and mental) and hinders their education, development, and future livelihoods. Child labor is a rampant problem across Ethiopia. This project is designed to address this pervasive problem which is a threat to children’s wellbeing and to the development of the nation. The project has the following specific objectives:
- To improve personal resilience, access to well-being services and well-functioning justice systems among children who are vulnerable to (at risk of/potential victims of) child labor exploitation.
- To reintegrate children who are victims of child labor exploitation into families and society.
- To strengthen the capacity and raise awareness of families and communities to prevent exploitative child labor.
- To strengthen the capacity of child protection and law enforcement actors (government, law enforcement & judicial actors, and civil society) and enable them to to implement efforts to prevent, identify and address exploitative child labor, thereby protecting children who are vulnerable to and victims of child labor exploitation.
The project shall have the following three components:
- Prevention: reach out to potential victims, raise awareness regarding rights, and support and strengthen mechanisms to prevent exploitative labor.
- Restoration: rescue victims, provide safety and shelter during rehabilitation and reintegrate them into families and society.
- Capacity Strengthening: train and guide the communities, government, civil society, law enforcement and judicial actors to strengthen the child protection system.
The implementing partner HIDO shall implement the project by working closely and in collaboration with the relevant governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. The project is expected to be implemented for four years in Addis Ababa and Amhara Regions of Ethiopia.
