Combating Worst Forms of Child Labour by Reinforcing Policy Response and Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods and Educational Opportunities in Egypt

Project background

Child labour remains a widespread phenomenon in Egypt, where the difficult living conditions have increased its prevalence so that the sight of children working has become commonplace. There are no accurate statistics on the number of child workers in Egypt since the majority work in unlicensed facilities. However, a study conducted in 2009 by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, in collaboration with the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation, revealed that the figure is approximately three million; an estimated 84% of working children reside in rural areas, nearly three-quarters of whom are boys and the rest are girls.

Child labour estimates vary widely, depending on the age range and survey.

• 7% to 21% of children between the ages of 5-14 are engaged in some form of child labour.
• An estimated 22% of children ages 10-14 are working.
• Approximately 12% of Egyptian households contain working children.
• Children comprise 7% of the total Egyptian labour force:
  • 77.7% of the agricultural sector
  • 14.9% of the industrial sector
  • 6% of the commercial sector
  • 1.14% of the service sector

Implementation strategy

The project has targeted five rural governorates of Upper Egypt, including Minya, Fayoum, Assiut, Sohag, and Sharqiyah, where food insecurity, vulnerability, poverty, and malnutrition are most profound in the country and the highest concentration of child labour exists.

Objectives and expected outcomes

The overall objective seeks to combat child labour, with special attention to the worst forms of child labour in agriculture, by supporting strong child labour policy and legislation and promoting sustainable livelihoods and educational opportunities for 16,000 children in the Egyptian governorates of Assiut, Minya, Sohag, Fayoum, and Sharqiyah.

• Provide direct educational services and address the root causes of child labour through the promotion of sustainable livelihoods of target households.
• Strengthen policies on child labour and support the review of relevant legislation on child labour; also strengthen the capacity of national institutions to combat child labour and address its root causes.
• Raise awareness of child labour and its root causes, and the importance of education for all children to mobilize a wide array of actors to improve and expand education.
• Oversee research, evaluation and the collection of reliable data on child labour.

Expected outcomes:

• Partner capacity is strengthened to design, develop, and implement income generation activities, micro-enterprises, and cooperatives for women and households of children at risk.
• The National Action Plan on child labour is implemented with special focus on child labour in Agriculture and in the framework of the Decent Work Country Programme.
• Government is supported in revising the child labour legislation especially on agriculture.
• The Hazardous Work List (HWL) is revised and the government is supported in the process of its adoption and enactment by law.
• Partner capacity is strengthened to effectively design and implement child labour policies and programmes.
• Capacity of relevant institutions, partners, and stakeholders is increased towards the elimination of hazards in the workplace with focus on agriculture and decent work.
• Households of child labourers and of labour children at risk become aware of negative consequences of child labour and benefits of education to combat child labour.
• Awareness of relevant legislation, policies, and rights on child labour is enhanced.
• A child labour monitoring system is developed in the target area and at the national level.

Implementing partners

• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
• World Food Program (WFP)

Target beneficiaries

The beneficiaries targeted are 16,000 children and 5,000 household heads, as follow:

• 3000 children ages 14-17
• 5000 children under 15 years old engaged in exploitative child labour
• 8000 children at high risk who primarily are siblings of working children
• 5000 household heads and vulnerable mothers of targeted at-risk or working children

For further information please contact:

Combating Worst Forms of Child Labour by Reinforcing Policy Response and Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods and Educational Opportunities in Egypt
ILO DWT/CO- Cairo
Project Office: 15 Dr. Taha Hussein St.
Zamalek, Cairo
Egypt
Tel. + 202 - 27350123
Fax. +202 - 27360889
Email