Emergency response to child labour in selected tsunami-affected areas in Sri Lanka

This project is designed to respond to existing and emerging child labour issues, in support of the country’s tsunami rehabilitation and development process. The project will adopt a dual strategy: “upstream” policy work in the form of guidance and advice and support to policy-makers for the integration of child labour concerns into the country’s overall emergency response, as a longer term plan; and “downstream” targeted interventions to reduce and prevent child labour in the selected tsunami-affected areas through a range of services. IPEC will focus on meeting the immediate needs of affected children in the selected areas and will lay the groundwork for gradually mainstreaming child labour issues into the Government’s recovery and reconstruction policy and programmes. The interventions will aim at rapid, efficient, comprehensive and quick impact actions to reduce and prevent child labour through integrated area-based programmes. Policy support will be provided to decision-makers to ensure that the differences in provision of immediate support in emergency situations and long-term development are clearly recognized and sustainable measures are taken at an early stage to minimize the impact of the tsunami on the child labour situation in the country. This will also require close coordination and collaboration with other disaster response/development agencies on the ground. DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE - To contribute to the elimination of child labour in Sri Lanka IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVES This project has two immediate objectives; by the end of this project: IO.1. The capacity of relevant government, media, international relief and reconstruction organizations, and NGO institutions (district and central level) will have been strengthened, enabling staff and community members to integrate child labour issues into post-tsunami reconstruction policies and monitor the child labour situation in the post-tsunami environment. IO.2. Flexible and speedy response will have been provided through community centres to tsunami-affected children and their parents/guardians in selected affected areas.

Project symbol

SRL/05/50/USA

Admin unit

CO-Colombo

Start date

01/02/2005

End date

30/06/2010

Total allocation

650549

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

650549

Development Partners

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

Country/Countries

Sri Lanka

Outcomes

Skills Development