138 million children around the world are still working instead of going to school.

A new report released by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) shows that although child labor has decreased by nearly 50% globally since the turn of the century, there are still about 138 million children forced to work.

Of these, up to 54 million children are involved in hazardous work that can seriously harm their health, safety and development.

Illustration photo.

The report, “Child Labour: Global Estimates 2024, Trends and the Way Forward,” shows that the total number of children in child labour has decreased by more than 22 million since 2020, marking a positive step forward after a worrying increase between 2016 and 2020. However, the world is still far from achieving the target of completely ending child labour by 2025 as set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo said the findings of the report show that progress is possible, but we cannot afford to be complacent.

Children need to be in school instead of working, and adults need to have stable jobs so they don’t have to send their children into the workforce. We have a long way to go if we want to truly eliminate child labor.

According to the report, agriculture continues to be the sector that employs the most children, accounting for 61% of the total, followed by services (27%) such as market sales or domestic work, and industry (13%) including manufacturing and mining.

The Asia- Pacific region recorded the most significant decline in child labour since 2020, from 5.6% to 3.1%, equivalent to a reduction from 49 million to 28 million children.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the child labour rate fell by 8% and the total number of working children fell by 11%. In contrast, sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with the highest number of working children, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the global total, or around 87 million. Although the rate fell from 23.9% to 21.5%, rapid population growth means that the absolute numbers remain very high.

The report also notes that boys are more likely than girls to be in the workforce at all ages. However, when unpaid housework of 21 hours or more per week is included, the gender gap reverses, suggesting that girls are shouldering an additional, invisible burden of household work.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said the world had made significant progress in reducing the number of children forced into child labour. However, too many were still working in mines, factories or on farms, often in dangerous conditions, just to help feed their families.

“We know that ending child labour can be achieved through proven solutions: expanding social protection, investing in free education, strengthening laws to protect children and ensuring adults have decent work. But without investment and political commitment, the gains made could be undone,” said Catherine Russell .

The ILO and UNICEF warn that cuts to education, social protection and livelihoods, especially in poor countries, could push millions of families into sending their children to work. At the same time, limited investment in data collection will make monitoring and intervention more difficult.

Child labour not only hinders children’s education but also undermines their future opportunities, leaving them physically and mentally vulnerable. It is both a cause and a consequence of the vicious cycle of poverty, lack of access to education and lack of suitable employment for adults in the family.

The report highlights that since 2000, the number of child labourers globally has almost halved, from 246 million to 138 million, but the current pace is too slow to achieve the goal of ending child labour by 2025. To do that, global progress needs to be 11 times faster than the current pace.

To accelerate this effort, the ILO and UNICEF call on governments to increase investment in social protection systems, especially for vulnerable households; expand access to quality education, especially in rural and crisis-hit areas; ensure that adults have decent work and the right to organize; and enforce laws to hold businesses accountable in their supply chains, preventing all forms of child labor.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/138-trieu-tre-em-tren-the-gioi-van-dang-lao-dong-thay-vi-den-truong-d308995.html