Combating Exploitive Child Labor Through Education in MadagascarName: Combating Exploitive Child Labor Through Education in Madagascar
Duration: September 30, 2008 – September 28, 2012
Donor: US Department of Labor (USDOL) **
Madagascar’s exploitive child labor problem has reached vast proportions, with nearly 2 million child laborers at work today. Recent years have seen increased government action in response and the formation of the National Action Plan to Combat Child Labor (NAP). The Worst Forms of Child Labor (WFCL) are found almost exclusively in the informal sector, which accounts for about 73% of the country’s economy. This sector suffers from a scarcity in earnings and stable employment, which both gives rise to and arises from child labor. The Malagasy population suffers from low employment and education, with only 66% having reached primary level instruction, and a 64.6% employment rate. In the study by D. Coury and F. Roubaud on the state of children’s workplaces, the number of child laborers was estimated at 1.9 million in 2000, with the number expected to grow, possibly reaching 2 million today. In 2005, International Labor Organization/International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour's (ILO/IPEC) studies found that in the age bracket of 5 to 9 years, one in five children work, and among children 10 to 14 years, one out of two works. Thirty-three percent of child laborers work in agriculture, animal raising, or fishing; 24% in business and services (e.g. street vendor, parking attendant); 17.5% in food industries and handiwork; and 11.6% in mines and quarries. Children work full time, generally 5 to 6 days per week. The WFCL in Madagascar are mainly found in the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), in stone quarries, in the mining sector, in domestic servitude, in the farm and fishing industry, and in dangerous and unhealthy urban and rural jobs.
Pact’s Approach
Pact’s strategy is to reinforce the NAP, building on previous and current successful initiatives, and to improve Madagascar’s capacity to combat child labor with the overall objective of withdrawing 4,500 children and preventing 4,500 children from WFCL through their integration into the formal and informal educational and vocational training systems. The program focuses on seven regions considered high priority regarding WFCL(map): Alaotra Mangoro, Analamanga, Anosy, Atsinanana, Diana, HauteMatsiatra and Vakinankaratra.
The root causes of child labor are poverty and the poor economy, lack of schooling, and customs and cultural practices. The program addresses these three essentials elements to effectively combat child labor. Only when all of these elements are undertaken concurrently can the gains made through this program be sustained. Pact uses a holistic approach that 1) promotes and enables the education of children; 2) augments lasting alternative revenue streams for families; and 3) increases awareness and understanding of relevant legislation and its enforcement. In addition, national capacity to gather and analyze statistical data and increase knowledge of the child labor situation is reinforced.
Pact provides Direct Educational Services (DES) and Other Direct Services (ODS) to target children. DES include the provision of school supplies and beneficiary support costs for school fees and related expenses to reduce the financial pressure motivating child labor in the short term. Pact’s signature savings- and literacy driven WORTH Empowerment Program will then help households sustainably increase their income and reduce financial stress in the long term. Thus, the USDOLfunded Program will create both immediate and lasting results. The ODS constitute an integral part of Pact’s approach to combat child labor. These services comprise medical insurance, extracurricular activities, life skills training, nutritional support and education, psychosocial counseling, and general information on child labor and trafficking issues.
United States Department of Labor (USDOL) Contact Information: Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human
Trafficking (OCFT)
Tel. (202) 693-4843
Staff contacts
Ravakiniaina Ranivoarianja Leonardo Hosh For more information, please visit Pact Madagascar website http://www.pact.mg ** Disclaimer: "The information stated above does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of United States Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, comercial products, or organmizations imply endorsement by the United States Government"
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