The Ambassador of the Netherlands Embassy in Côte d'Ivoire attended the opening session to deliver a speech after the second strategy workshop of the Alliance 8.7 Supply Chains Task Force.

Countries delegations shared information on child labor in their respective supply chains, highlighting existing national efforts and challenges. This led to discussions on project priorities for the development of regional collaboration and knowledge-sharing mechanisms among stakeholders.

National coordinators participated in the project's first Team meeting on May 17, 2019, an opportunity to learn, interact and share experiences with colleagues from different countries to discuss progress made and challenges encountered in different contexts.

Key presentations were made on child labor statistics (new international guidelines on child labour statistics), the child labour platform, collaboration with other departments, donor relations and communication). 

Thematic sessions were facilitated by the project's Chief Technical Advisor and other ILO colleagues from headquarters and the regional office. Project coordinators from covered countries presented on their experience: main challenges and opportunities in their respective countries.

Additional presentations on financial procedures (typical challenges and solutions) were made by the financial and administrative officers from the regional office who discussed with the project coordinators, made suggestions on priority areas and gave advice on how to implement project activities in a smooth manner.

The overall objective of the ACCEL Africa project, funded by the Government of the Netherlands, is to accelerate the elimination of child labor in Africa through targeted actions in selected supply chains in Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda.