Standing together against child labor in Ghana
Ghana is one of the world’s largest cocoa-producing countries. Cocoa is generally produced on tiny, family-run farms where children are often found working. Child labor is widespread in Ghana: 28 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 17 work.
The reasons include local customs and social norms along with lack of access to education and social services. The economic situation has worsened the problem. Ghana has made numerous efforts to monitor child labor, but the systems are not coordinated with each other. This undercuts the authorities’ ability to take effective action against child labor practices.
UNICEF Ghana has been involved in a pilot project in cooperation with the International Cocoa Initiative since the beginning of 2024, bringing together relevant stakeholders from the public and private sectors to combat child labor. The undertaking is supported by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa. This public private partnership seeks to strengthen local government structures in coordinating monitoring systems against child labor and to improve the population’s access to social services. It also aims to improve cross-sectoral coordination. The pilot project’s first year showed great progress. There were numerous coordination meetings between various project stakeholders and opportunities to hear the concerns of local residents.
