Pilot direct action, research, capacity-building and networking programme for preventing the entrance of HIV/AIDS orphans and HIV/AIDS-affected girls and boys into child labour

HIV/AIDS creates numerous new problems and situations, comprising development achievements and initiatives. As the HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa has grown in size and intensity, the situation of children has become more precarious. Older children are at risk of HIV infection. Girls and boys, whose parents become infected and later fell ill and died, are affected in multiple ways. Educational opportunities also have been compromised, as children are withdrawn from school to assist in care-giving or to work. Girls, in particular, tend to be withdrawn from school before boys and assume many care-giving functions with families affected by HIV/AIDS. Many children have entered the world of work in order to supplement family income lost when an adult became ill or died due to HIV/AIDS. The work done by children is often low paid, stressful and physically and emotionally demanding, in addition to jeopardizing their health and future. Not least of those hazards in the era of AIDS is sexual harassment, exploitation and the risk of HIV infection. HIV/AIDS has led to an increasing number of boys and girls engaged in different types of labour, including the worst forms of child labour, as defined by ILO Convention No. 182, adopted in 1999, such as involvement in prostitution, in armed conflict, drug trafficking and hazardous work. Indeed, HIV/AIDS has reinforced the immediate economic factors that push children into the labour market. In addition, the epidemic has made the long-term opportunities for decent lives more difficult for hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of children in sub-Saharan Africa. Between 2001 and 2003, ILO-IPEC collected information from four countries (Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa) that establish the links between HIV/AIDS and child labour. Furthermore, SIMPOC studies in Uganda on CSEC and HIV/AIDS and child labour (ILO-IPEC, 2004) have brought to light the need to integrate HIV/AIDS concerns into child labour programmes and policies. The project will build upon existing knowledge and create models of interventions over three years in two core countries, Uganda and Zambia. In each of these countries, the large number of children who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS dramatically magnifies the real and potential risk of children being forced to work. As of 2003, it is estimated that 940,000 children in Uganda and 630,000 children in Zambia have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The proposed activities are designed to expand and sustain education and skills training opportunities for 3,600 girls and boys withdrawn from child labour and to prevent girls and boys from entering work situations through community-based social protection schemes. Finally, the project will use its experiences to expand the knowledge base around the issues of child labour and HIV/AIDS in order to generate appropriate policy responses and expand the resources available to eliminate the worst forms of child labour and promote a reduction in HIV/AIDS risks for girls and boys. Two immediate objectives have been formulated for the project. These are: (a) community-based models for assisting HIV/AIDS orphans and girls and boys affected by HIV/AIDS in child labour or at risk of entering child labour, through education and social protection, will have been adopted by relevant national organizations in Uganda and Zambia and will be available for replication in other countries in the subregion; (b) policy-makers and programme planners in the field of HIV/AIDS and child labour in the subregion will have mainstreamed tools, policy recommendations and good practices for dealing with HIV/AIDS and child labour. Achievement of these immediate objectives will provide the ILO's tripartite and other partners with experiences and examples to respond fully to the child labour implications of the impact of HIV/AIDS. The outputs and activities stemming from these objectives will include providing vocational training for girls and b

Project symbol

RAF/04/57/USA

Admin unit

CO-Dar es Salaam

Start date

30/09/2004

End date

31/12/2008

Total allocation

3000000

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

2803409

Development Partners

USA, United States Department of Labor, Bureau for International Labor Affairs, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking

Country/Countries

Africa - regional

Outcomes

Child Labour