Sub-Saharan Africa worst for child labour

Many young African children are too busy working to attend school

By James Whittington BBC World Business Report

Sub-Saharan Africa has the world's worst record of child labour.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that 29% of children aged between five and 14 years-old are having to earn a living - the next highest rate is in Asia where it stands at 19%.

Child labour in Africa is not a new problem.

One of the reasons for the high rate of population growth in most African countries is because children are often seen as an economic resource to be employed to help support a family and local community.

Supporting the family

Many children in the Ghanaian capital of Accra are resigned to the fact that they need to earn a living.

"They have not really lost their sense of wanting to have some education"

Mamia Kosia-Bania, Street Academy

Kadigotso sells shoes in the market.

"I start work early in the morning at about 7am and don't finish until seven in the evening. I don't like working because I get very tired but I have no choice because my family is very poor," she said.

Ebeneezer works to support his family. "There's nothing wrong with working because I have to look after my mother. My father's dead and I have four brothers and three sisters."

"I sell ice water in the market with my mother. I don't like the work but when I grow up I want to be a hairdresser," said Linda who is just 13 years old.

Food for thought

These children are - relatively speaking - among the lucky ones.

They attend the Street Academy which is run by a non-governmental organisation and provides basic schooling.

One of the project organisers, Mamia Kosia-Bania, explained the Academy persuades children to give up a day's work to attend the classes.

"We just try to keep the time they spend here to a very limited time so they can go back to work if they want to," she said. "They don't really want to do away with that because they earn money."

"When you look at the many languages in Africa, child labour does not convey any negative perceptions, it seems to be alright,"

Alice Ouedrago, ILO

Mamia Kosia-Bania said the project gives the children free food everyday so they don't have to go out and work for food and this encourages them to stay for a little longer than they otherwise would have wanted to.

The project also encourages the children to go to public schools by paying their school fees and giving them free uniforms and stationary.

"They have not really lost their sense of wanting to have some education," said Ms Kosia-Bania.

Child labour "acceptable"

So why does Africa have the worst statistics for child labour?

Alice Ouedrago, director for policy development at the ILO in Geneva, believes there are many underlying reasons.

"The concept we use to talk about child labour, when you look at the many languages in Africa, child labour does not convey any negative perceptions, it seems to be alright," she said.

Asia is second only to sub-Saharan Africa in its child labour record

Ms Ouedrago said in some families people have children in order to have the manpower to sustain themselves.

"I think there is here a gap between the policy makers and the population themselves," she said.

"We notice in Africa that many of the population, they do take their own responsibilities and they try to make their life better and they don't wait for anything to come from the top because they know that this is something that is quite difficult to materialize."

So in the absence of better economic prospects, many Africans will continue to struggle to fend for themselves.

That means that all hands - both young and old - have to be available to help provide life's basic necessities.