Zambian Government, ILO Collaborate on Program To Prevent Child Labor; Many Child Laborers Affected by HIV/AIDS
The Zambian government on Wednesday announced it is launching a three-year program aimed at lowering the number of children affected by HIV/AIDS who are recruited for child labor, Xinhua/ReliefWeb reports. The program, which will collaborate with the International Labour Organization's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, will focus on strategy development, capacity building, advocacy and social mobilization, policy-oriented research and surveys, and direct intervention to prevent and withdraw children from labor. About 600,000 children work in Zambia, and a significant number of them are affected by or infected with HIV/AIDS, according to Xinhua/ReliefWeb. "Child labor and HIV/AIDS are creating a vicious circle, both of which have been aggravating poverty in Zambia," Louis Ndaba-Hagamye, ILO director for Zambia, said, adding, "Many of the HIV/AIDS-affected children enter into child labor, and the program will try to cut this vicious circle toward the sustainable development and poverty eradication in Zambia." The program will target homeless children, particularly those who are involved with commercial sex work and illegal activities. Zambia is the first country to implement the project, and its outcome could be replicated in other countries, according to Xinhua/ReliefWeb (Xinhua/ReliefWeb, 4/20).
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