ECLT remains committed to fight child labour in Malawi
Agriculture is a powerful sector in Malawi and provides livelihood for 80% of the total population. Small-scale farmers often turn to child labour to expand their production, including in tobacco growing. Child labour remains significantly high (38% of all children in Malawi) and it is a complex issue which requires multi-stakeholder commitment to produce sustainable solutions.
Since 2002, ECLT has worked with the Government of Malawi, the trade unions, employers’ organisations, civil society, communities and the ILO to prevent children from falling into child labour: removing those already involved, enrolling them in schools and supporting their families for sustainable impact.
In Malawi, the ECLT Foundation has carried out a number of projects including building classrooms, renovating and constructing bridges, setting up Village Savings and Loan Associations, providing school feeding programmes and vocational training. These projects have had significant impact and have contributed to the removal of over 19,000 children from child labour since 2014 alone.
Helping students, fighting hunger
Kankhoka school in Malawi is one of the beneficiary schools of Schools Feeding Programme, which harvests maize and soya beans. The school has since been in a position to offer porridge to all students. In doing so, school enrolment rate has significantly increased, with 80% of children attending full-time. Providing nutritious meals at school is just one effective way to keep children healthy and in school, away from child labour.
As we look ahead, ECLT will continue to work with partners to help translate the national commitment to end child labour into tangible benefits for children and communities to provide effective and sustainable solutions to ending child labour. To learn more about ECLT’s impact in Malawi visit www.eclt.org/impact/malawi.