Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Good evening dear colleagues, my contribution will relate to the following item: "1) Hunger and malnutrition In certain circumstances, children work to provide for their food needs. How has child labor in agriculture been approached through food security and nutrition policy and programs (such as school meals, school feeding programs, vegetable gardens, etc.) and what was the role of the actors of agriculture in this process? "

Hereby please find attached my experiences and some information on the effectiveness of the policies and strategies related to question 1), relating how they were implemented and what challenges may have remained in a small community, located in the town of Léogane "Momance" in Haiti.

The Lesser and Greater Antilles where certain Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are located are often the scene of numerous natural disasters, which can often give rise to resounding earthquakes such as that experienced by Haiti in 2010, 2018 or violent cyclones such as "Maria" which affected Dominica among others.

In August 2017, the international NGO “Humanity For The World (HFTW)” seized the opportunity of an observation mission to set up a humanitarian action intended to promote the improvement of living conditions, education, the fight against poverty, the fight against malnutrition with the Momance community, in particular with the school "mixed institution the pioneers of Momance" in partnership with its director Mr Mario LOREMY.

What the members present of "Humanity For The World (HFTW)" find when arriving on site, 7 years after the major earthquake of 2010, is a community completely rooted in resilience.

Indeed, the members present of "Humanity For The World (HFTW)" (Audrey POMIER FLOBINUS and Yolaine FLOBINUS) were able to observe and measure the psychological, economic and social impact of the effects of the earthquake on the Momance community.

The Momance community is located in a small village of Léogâne in Haiti, it has faced many challenges over the past 10 years because there were no wells or running water, no electricity, bad water. living conditions, no school, and most lived on less than $ 2 a day.

In 2010, Léogâne was the epicenter of a devastating earthquake that killed thousands and reduced most of the country to rubble.

When the dust settled, the village chiefs of Momance met and formed a committee which defined a vision for the future of Momance because they all wanted a better future for their children and their community:

• A council of village elders was held
• Land has been ceded for the creation of a school in order to provide quality education to the children of the community "Mixed institution the pioneers of Momance"
• People of trust have been chosen for the education of young people (Mr Mario LOREMY his management team)
• Parents take turns at school to cook and feed students for lunch
• Although they are not yet self-sufficient, we have observed that the inhabitants have set up an agricultural production of corn to supply the school canteen.
• In fact, an American NGO had given them several bags of corn seeds which they planted. During the week, the parents of the village took turns at the bedside of the culture of the new plantation, but on weekends and during the school holidays the children participated in the work of the fields alongside the parents. The challenges were to ensure at least one daily meal for the children of the school but also for members of the Momance community.

In a difficult context or any lack, the determination, the determination shown by this community to get out of it, the pooling of skills, the benevolence of the oldest towards the youngest characterize the resilience of a people.

This experience shows that the joint effort of children and adults to save a community, to protect it from precariousness, from hunger is sometimes useful when the situation requires it. Children need to be aware of the issues that govern their lives. That is why since this event the school has implemented an agricultural program into which the school education program is integrated. All the inhabitants understood the need to transmit and perpetuate agricultural activity within the community. It is a matter of life and death.

Also, thanks to the various and varied donations, to the hard work of the Momance community in the fall of 2012, a well was built, in 2013, the construction phase of a school to accommodate the children of the community was launched, with 2 classrooms.

Today in 2018, the school "Mixed institution the pioneers of Momance" welcomes more than 150 students (with an extension project which is underway), with 4 classrooms, a chapel, an office and a games. Each child also receives a hot meal every day. A medical and dental program has been added and a security fence is also under construction.

Humanity is strong, the instinct for survival of populations, of individuals in precarious situations undoubtedly leads to the sister resilience of creativity conditioning their survival.

 It is up to national and international political authorities to preserve the future of humanity by preserving and protecting young people.

English translation below

Buenas tardes, algunos aportes a la pregunta uno (1)  

El Fondo de las Naciones Unidas para la Infancia UNICEF, calcula que en el mundo, cerca de 150 millones de niños y niñas son víctimas del trabajo infantil y de ellos casi la mitad ejercen alguna de las peores formas de trabajo infantil (esclavitud, la trata, la prostitución, el reclutamiento forzado para el conflicto armado, la obligación de realizar actividades ilegales o la exposición a cualquier tipo de peligros). En América Latina, cerca del 16% de la población infantil trabajan, la mayoría realizando tareas del sector agrícola.

Es importante diferenciar los términos tarea infantil y trabajo infantil. La primera hace referencia a la participación de los niños, las niñas y los adolescentes en actividades económicas que no afecten su salud ni los excluya del sistema educativo. La Convención No. 138 de la OIT permite cualquier tipo de trabajo ligero a partir de los 12 años, siempre y cuando no afecte las actividades educativas del niño, la niña o el adolescente.

De otro lado, el trabajo infantil, se refiere a los niños menores de 12 años que trabajan en cualquier actividad económica, así como aquellos mayores de 12 años que realizan un trabajo más que ligero y aquellos que son sometidos a las peores formas de trabajo infantil.

El trabajo infantil es causa y consecuencia de la pobreza, el ingreso de los niños al mercado laboral retrasa o elimina la posibilidad de ingreso o permanencia en el sistema escolar, lo que afecta de manera directa adquirir los conocimientos que les permitan desempeñarse en otros campos, incluso en el campo agrícola tecnificado.

Más de la mitad de los trabajos que realizan los niños, se desarrollan en el sector agrícola en labores desde la producción, la cosecha y el procesamiento de las cosechas, en este sector los niños están expuestos a heridas por manejo de maquinaria pesada o a intoxicaciones por el uso de pesticidas u otros productos tóxicos, lo que afecta su estado de salud y su desarrollo. De acuerdo a la FAO, la cifra de niños y niñas que realizan trabajo infantil en el campo viene aumentando como consecuencia de los conflictos y desastres ocasionados por el cambio climático, seguido por la migración forzada.

La FAO (2018) alerta que el cumplimiento del ODS (Objetivo de Desarrollo Sostenible) No.2. Hambre cero, solo es posible si se elimina el trabajo infantil y asegura que “es probable que los niños que trabajan muchas horas continúen engrosando las filas de los pobres y hambrientos. Como sus familias dependen de su trabajo, esto priva a los niños de la oportunidad de ir a la escuela, lo que a su vez les impide obtener empleos decentes e ingresos en el futuro”

Adicional a los riesgos a los que se encuentran expuestos los niños y las niñas en el trabajo infantil desarrollado en el sector agrícola, las cifras de desnutrición son más elevadas en los niños y las niñas del área rural, lo que afecta de manera importante su desarrollo, esto lo confirman los datos de la ENSIN 2015 (Encuesta Nacional de la Situación Nutricional) para Colombia son los siguientes:

a. Inseguridad alimentaria en los hogares: Con respecto al dato nacional (54.2%), la Inseguridad Alimentaria en Hogares (INSAH) es mayor en las áreas menos urbanizadas y más dispersas del país, además la Encuesta evidencio una relación entre la INSAH y factores como la falta de recursos económicos, la falta de una vivienda digna y la falta de redes de apoyo vecinales o familiares. De las situaciones que tuvo mayor peso en relación con la INSAH, fue el desplazamiento forzoso, especialmente entre familias rurales que se ven obligadas a irse repentinamente a las ciudades (Resultados análisis cualitativo, ENSIN 2015).

b. Retraso en talla en menores de cinco años: Si bien los datos han presentado una mejoría con respecto al 2010, este indicador presenta cifras más altas en el área resto, 6,4 p.p. superior a la de la cabecera. Este dato se relaciona con los hallazgos del informe del DNP sobre la Misión para la transformación del campo colombiano 2015, que muestra el empobrecimiento económico y multidimensional de la población rural, las condiciones inequitativas en las que habitan sus pobladores, las grandes desigualdades al interior de la misma área, la poca inclusión y acceso a bienes productivos, los problemas de calidad en salud y educación y el bajo dinamismo en el sector agropecuario.

c. Desnutrición aguda: Como resultado de las inequidades que viven los habitantes de las áreas rurales, al igual que en los demás indicadores las cifras más altas se evidencian en estas regiones, por encima del área cabecera.

d. Deficiencias de micronutrientes (Instituto Nacional de Salud. 2019):

1. Anemia en menores de cinco años: La Encuesta reporto que un 24.7% de los niños y niñas de esta edad con anemia y mostró que las cifras de anemia son mayores en niños y niñas entre seis y once meses (62.5%), en el área rural, en el índice de riqueza más bajo y en los indígenas (34%).

2. Deficiencia de Zinc en menores de cinco años: En el caso del Zinc, la Encuesta mostro que el 36% de los niños y las niñas de este grupo de edad presentan deficiencia de zinc, presentando cifras mayores en el área rural (37.2%).

Vale la pena resaltar que las deficiencias nutricionales como el hierro durante la primera infancia generan consecuencias a lo largo de la vida, como retraso en talla, afectación en e l desarrollo cognitivo y por lo tanto la productividad en la vida adulta, la inmunidad, e incluso pueden generar la muerte. En cuanto al zinc, su deficiencia aumenta el riesgo y la severidad de las infecciones, retrasa el crecimiento fetal, aumenta el riesgo de prematurez, bajo peso al nacer, mortalidad neonatal, además afecta el desarrollo cognitico y el capital humano, perpetuando el circulo vicioso de desnutrición, subdesarrollo y pobreza (MSPS, 2016) (FAO. 2019) (FANTA - USAID 2016).

En general los resultados de la ENSIN, permiten concluir que la desnutrición y el hambre oculta, (definida por la OMS como la deficiencia de micronutrientes: vitaminas y minerales y que confirma la UNICEF no permite a niñas y niños su desarrollo pleno, afecta sus posibilidades de aprender, disminuye las competencias del adulto para la consecución de un empleo digno), es un riesgo para la población colombiana en general, sin embargo su prevalencia es mayor en grupos indígenas, afrocolombianos y con factores como la pobreza y la ubicación geográfica en zonas rurales dispersas.

Los determinantes de la desnutrición infantil y en especial de los niños y las niñas del área rural se encuentran relacionados con factores sociales y económicos dentro de los cuales se encuentran:

• El consumo insuficiente de alimentos (en calidad y cantidad) lo que afecta directamente su sistema inmunitario,
• La falta de acceso a servicios de salud y saneamiento básico, lo que hace más vulnerables a los niños y las niñas a la aparición de enfermedades infecciosas
• El estado nutricional de las madres durante la gestación
• La pobreza, la desigualdad, la baja escolaridad de las madres y cuidadores

Todos estos factores presentes en las zonas rurales del país, son una de las causas para que los niños realicen trabajo infantil en la agricultura con los riesgos descritos para su salud y su desarrollo, además del abandono de la educación lo que perpetúa la pobreza en el área rural. Es necesario que el país fortalezca sus políticas de protección social, para asegurar que los niños y las niñas en el campo permanezcan en el sistema educativo, el cual además de conocimientos les asegura un porcentaje de sus requerimientos nutricionales mediante los programas de alimentación escolar.

Dentro de las acciones en protección social que pueden ayudar a disminuir las cifras de trabajo infantil en el campo están:

1. Fortalecer los programas de alimentación en la escuela que garantice un porcentaje de los requerimientos nutricionales de los niños y las niñas.

2. Implementación de huertas familiares y comunitarias para autoconsumo que aseguren la disponibilidad de alimentos para las familias, estas huertas deben promover las prácticas agroecológicas para disminuir la exposición de los niños y las niñas a tareas como la fumigación con pesticidas perjudiciales para su salud. Las huertas además son una estrategia para la generación de ingresos para las familias a partir de los excedentes de la producción

3. Fomentar medidas de almacenamiento de alimentos para evitar la falta de provisión en épocas de emergencias climáticas como inundaciones y otras.

4. Fortalecer la calidad, la gratuidad y la obligatoriedad de la educación básica y secundaria adaptada al entorno rural con énfasis en emprendimiento y habilidades para la vida en el entorno rural.

5. Mayor acceso de productores (en especial de las mujeres) a créditos, insumos y tecnología que permita reducir el excesivo esfuerzo que requieren las labores del campo y la necesidad de participación de los niños y las niñas en ellas. La mecanización de las tareas agrícolas disminuye la mano de obra familiar incluida la de los niños y las niñas.

6. Promover esfuerzos para aumentar los ingresos de las familias rurales, lo que asegura el acceso de los niños y las niñas al sistema educativo en lugar de tener que trabajar.

7. Programas para el mejoramiento de las viviendas, lo cual incluye la construcción de puntos cercanos de agua tanto para los animales como para el consumo humano, lo que evita que niños y niñas tengan que realizar esta tarea en ocasiones a largas distancias de sus hogares.

8. Programas de salud que involucren tanto a hombres como mujeres en temas relacionados con la importancia de la alimentación saludable en especial para los niños y las niñas y con la planificación familiar como una estrategia para disminuir el número de miembros en la familia que obligue a los niños y las niñas a realizar trabajo infantil para aportar recursos económicos a la familia para su mantenimiento. Además de programas de salud para mejorar el saneamiento en las viviendas.

9. Programas del sector salud efectivos en el suministro de micronutrientes durante la gestación y la infancia para disminuir el hambre oculta que como se menciono anteriormente es mayor en las áreas rurales.

10. Programas de transferencias monetarias que animen a los niños, las niñas y los adolescentes a continuar en el sistema educativo.

11. Realizar inversión en infraestructura agrícola, vías, acceso al agua lo que mejora la producción, los precios de las cosechas y el acceso a los alimentos.

12. Programas para el empoderamiento de las mujeres, se asocian con mejores prácticas de cuidado, salud y nutrición, menores probabilidades de desnutrición de sus hijos e hijas. Los estudios muestran como a mayor nivel educativo de las madres las cifras de desnutrición disminuyen.

Algunos de los avances del Gobierno Nacional en la protección social en zona rural:

• Aumento en la cobertura en seguridad social, sin embargo continúan rezagos en municipios con alto grado de ruralidad, dispersión poblacional, con mayores índices de necesidades básicas insatisfechas, y en ocasiones, con incidencia del conflicto armado.
• Generación del Plan Nacional de Salud Rural, orientado a cerrar las brechas urbano-rurales en términos de cobertura, acceso, oportunidad y calidad de los servicios de salud con enfoque territorial, poblacional y de género para responder de manera efectiva a los retos que presenta la salud rural en Colombia.
• Creación de la Unidad Administrativa Especial de Alimentación Escolar. Alimentos para aprender. Como estrategia para lograr el bienestar, la permanencia escolar y el desarrollo integral, particularmente de niños y niñas en situación de pobreza y ubicados en zonas rurales, se busca el aumento en la cobertura (a 2022 llegar a 1.9 millones de niños, niñas y jóvenes del área rural) y en el tiempo de ejecución del programa de alimentación escolar al calendario escolar completo.
• Generación del Programa de Vivienda de Interés Rural Social: Subsidio en dinero o en especie destinado a mejorar deficiencias en la estructura principal, cimientos, muros o cubierta, carencia o deficiencia en los sistemas de alcantarillado o sistema para la disposición final de aguas servidas, carencia o deficiencia de baño(s) y/o cocina, pisos en tierra o en materiales inapropiados, construcción en materiales provisionales tales como latas, telas asfáltica y madera de desecho, entre otros (MADR).
• Proyecto de Educación Rural: Generado a partir de 2009, como una estrategia del MEN para incrementar el acceso con calidad a la educación en el sector rural desde preescolar hasta media, promover la permanencia de niños, niñas y jóvenes en el sistema educativo y mejorar la pertinencia de la educación para las comunidades rurales y sus poblaciones escolares con el fin de elevar y la calidad de vida de la población rural.

Referencias bibliográficas

DNP-CEPAL. 2015. Misión para la transformación del campo. La Protección Social de la Población Rural

FAO. (2019). El estado de la seguridad alimentaria y nutrición en el mundo

ICBF. 2015. Encuesta Nacional de la Situación Nutricional ENSIN

INS. 2019. Que tan bien o mal nutridos están los colombianos. En: https://www.ins.gov.co/Noticias/Paginas/INS-revela-qu%C3%A9-tan-bien-o-…

MADR. 2019. Plan Nacional de Construcción y Mejoramiento de Vivienda Social Rural.

MEN. 2009. Proyecto de Educación Rural.

MEN. 2019. Unidad Administrativa Especial de Alimentación Escolar

MSPS. 2016. LA DESNUTRICIÓN INFANTIL EN COLOMBIA: MARCO DE REFERENCIA.

MSPS. 2018. Plan Nacional de Salud Rural.

USAID-FANTA. 2016. Análisis de la situación y tendencias de los micronutrientes clave en Guatemala, con un llamado a la acción desde las políticas públicas.

UNICEF. Los niños son asunto de todos

Good afternoon,

Here are some contributions to question one (1).

The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, estimates that around 150 million children worldwide are victims of child labour and almost half of them carry out some of the worst forms of it (slavery, trafficking , prostitution, forced recruitment for the armed conflict, the obligation to carry out illegal activities or exposure to any type of danger). In Latin America, about 16% of the child population works, the majority performing tasks in the agricultural sector.

It is important to differentiate the terms child housework and child labour. The first refers to the participation of children and adolescents in economic activities that do not affect their health or exclude them from the educational system. ILO Convention No. 138 allows any type of light work from the age of 12, as long as it does not affect the educational activities of the child or adolescent.

On the other hand, child labour refers to children under 12 years of age who work in any economic activity, as well as those over 12 years of age who carry out more than light work and those who are subjected to the worst forms of child labour.

Child labour is a cause and consequence of poverty, the entry of children into the labour market delays or eliminates the possibility of entering or remaining in the school system, which directly affects the acquisition of knowledge that allows them to perform in other fields, even in the technified agricultural field.

More than half of the work performed by children is carried out in the agricultural sector in tasks from production, harvesting and processing of crops, in this sector children are exposed to injuries due to handling of heavy machinery or poisoning from the use of pesticides or other toxic products, which affects their health and development. According to the FAO, the number of boys and girls who carry out child labour in the field has been increasing as a consequence of the conflicts and disasters caused by climate change, followed by forced migration.

FAO (2018) warns that compliance with SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) No.2. Zero hunger is only possible if child labour is eliminated and ensures that “children who work long hours are likely to continue to swell the ranks of the poor and hungry. Since their families depend on their work, this deprives children of the opportunity to go to school, which in turn prevents them from getting decent jobs and income in the future.

In addition to the risks to which boys and girls are exposed through child labour carried out in the agricultural sector, malnutrition figures are higher in boys and girls in rural areas, which significantly affects their development. This is confirmed by the data from the ENSIN 2015 (National Survey of the Nutritional Situation), which for Colombia is as follows:

a. Food insecurity in households: With respect to the national data (54.2%), Food Insecurity in Households (INSAH) is higher in the less urbanized and more dispersed areas of the country. In addition, the Survey evidenced a relationship between INSAH and factors such as lack of financial resources, lack of decent housing, and lack of neighbourhood or family support networks. Of the situations that had the greatest weight in relation to the INSAH, forced displacement stood out, especially among rural families who are forced to suddenly go to the cities (Results qualitative analysis, ENSIN 2015).

b. Delay in height growth of children under five years: Although the data have shown an improvement with respect to 2010, this indicator presents higher figures in the rest area, 6.4 p.p. higher than that of the header. This data is related to the findings of the DNP report on the Mission for the transformation of the Colombian countryside 2015, which shows the economic and multidimensional impoverishment of the rural population, the inequitable conditions in which its inhabitants live, the great inequalities within the same area, low inclusion and access to productive assets, quality problems in health and education, and low dynamism in the agricultural sector.

c. Acute malnutrition: As a result of the inequities experienced by the inhabitants of rural areas, as in the other indicators, the highest figures are evident in these regions, above the municipal area.

d. Micronutrient deficiencies (National Institute of Health. 2019):

1. Anaemia in children under five years: The Survey reported that 24.7% of boys and girls of this age with anaemia and showed that anaemia figures are higher in boys and girls between six and eleven months (62.5%), in the rural area, in the lowest wealth index and in the indigenous population (34%).

2. Zinc deficiency in children under five years of age: In the case of Zinc, the Survey showed that 36% of boys and girls in this age group have zinc deficiency, presenting higher figures in rural areas (37.2%).

It is worth noting that nutritional deficiencies such as iron during early childhood generate consequences throughout life, such as stunting, impairment in cognitive development and therefore productivity in adulthood, immunity, and even they can generate death. As for zinc, its deficiency increases the risk and severity of infections, delays foetal growth, increases the risk of prematurity, low birth weight, neonatal mortality, and also affects cognitive development and human capital, perpetuating the vicious circle. of malnutrition, underdevelopment and poverty (MSPS, 2016) (FAO. 2019) (FANTA - USAID 2016).

In general, the results of the ENSIN allow us to conclude that malnutrition and hidden hunger, (defined by the WHO as the deficiency of micronutrients: vitamins and minerals and confirmed by UNICEF, do not allow girls and boys their full development, affect their learning opportunities, decreases the skills of the adult to achieve a decent job), is a risk for the Colombian population in general, however its prevalence is higher in indigenous groups, Afro-Colombians and with factors such as poverty and geographic location in areas scattered rural areas.

The determinants of child malnutrition and especially of boys and girls in rural areas are related to social and economic factors, among which are:

• Insufficient food consumption (in quality and quantity) which directly affects your immune system,
• Lack of access to basic health and sanitation services, making boys and girls more vulnerable to the appearance of infectious diseases
• The nutritional status of mothers during pregnancy
• Poverty, inequality, low education for mothers and caregivers

All these factors present in rural areas of the country are one of the causes for children to carry out child labour in agriculture with the risks described for their health and development, in addition to abandonment of education, which perpetuates poverty in the rural area. It is necessary for the country to strengthen its social protection policies, to ensure that boys and girls in the countryside remain in the educational system, which, in addition to knowledge, ensures a percentage of their nutritional requirements through school feeding programs.

Among the actions in social protection that can help reduce the number of child labour in the field are:

1. Strengthen school feeding programs that guarantee a percentage of the nutritional requirements of boys and girls.

2. Implementation of family and community gardens for self-consumption that ensure the availability of food for families, these gardens must promote agroecological practices to reduce the exposure of children to tasks such as spraying with pesticides harmful to their health. The orchards are also a strategy for generating income for families from surplus production.

3. Promote food storage measures to avoid the lack of provision in times of climatic emergencies such as floods and others.

4. Strengthen the quality, free and compulsory basic and secondary education adapted to the rural environment with an emphasis on entrepreneurship and life skills in the rural environment.

5. Greater access of producers (especially women) to credits, supplies and technology, which reduces the excessive effort required by farm work and the need for boys and girls to participate in them. The mechanization of agricultural tasks reduces family labour, including that of boys and girls.

6. Promote efforts to increase the income of rural families, which ensures the access of boys and girls to the educational system instead of having to work.

7. Programs for home improvement, which includes the construction of nearby water points for both animals and human consumption, which avoids that boys and girls have to carry out this task sometimes at long distances from their homes.

8. Health programs that involve both men and women in issues related to the importance of healthy eating, especially for boys and girls, and with family planning as a strategy to reduce the number of members in the family that forces them to boys and girls to carry out child labour to contribute economic resources to the family for its maintenance. In addition to health programs to improve sanitation in homes.

9. Effective health sector programs in the supply of micronutrients during pregnancy and childhood to reduce hidden hunger, which, as mentioned above, is greater in rural areas.

10. Cash transfer programs that encourage children and adolescents to continue in the educational system.

11. Make investment in agricultural infrastructure, roads, access to water, which improves production, crop prices and access to food.

12. Programs for the empowerment of women, are associated with better care, health and nutrition practices, less probability of malnutrition of their sons and daughters. Studies show that the higher the educational level of mothers, the malnutrition figures decrease.

Some of the advances of the National Government in social protection in rural areas:

• Increase in social security coverage, however, lags continue in municipalities with a high degree of rurality, population dispersion, with higher rates of unsatisfied basic needs, and sometimes, with an incidence of armed conflict.
• Generation of the National Rural Health Plan, aimed at closing the urban-rural gaps in terms of coverage, access, opportunity and quality of health services with a territorial, population and gender focus to respond effectively to the challenges presented by the rural health in Colombia.
• Creation of the Special Administrative Unit for School Feeding. Food to learn. As a strategy to achieve well-being, school permanence and comprehensive development, particularly of boys and girls in poverty and located in rural areas, the aim is to increase coverage (by 2022 reach 1.9 million children and youth of the rural area) and in the execution time of the school feeding program to the complete school calendar.
• Generation of the Rural Social Interest Housing Program: Cash or in-kind subsidy intended to improve deficiencies in the main structure, foundations, walls or roof, lack or deficiency in sewage systems or system for the final disposal of wastewater, lack or deficiency of bathroom (s) and / or kitchen, floors on earth or in inappropriate materials, construction in provisional materials such as cans, asphalt and waste wood, among others (MADR).
• Rural Education Project: Generated from 2009, as a strategy of the Ministry of National Education to increase quality access to education in the rural sector from preschool to middle school, promote the permanence of children and young people in the educational system and improve relevance of education for rural communities and their school populations in order to raise and the quality of life of the rural population.

Bibliographic references

DNP-CEPAL. 2015. Misión para la transformación del campo. La Protección Social de la Población Rural

FAO. (2019). El estado de la seguridad alimentaria y nutrición en el mundo

ICBF. 2015. Encuesta Nacional de la Situación Nutricional ENSIN

INS. 2019. Que tan bien o mal nutridos están los colombianos. En: https://www.ins.gov.co/Noticias/Paginas/INS-revela-qu%C3%A9-tan-bien-o-…

MADR. 2019. Plan Nacional de Construcción y Mejoramiento de Vivienda Social Rural.

MEN. 2009. Proyecto de Educación Rural.

MEN. 2019. Unidad Administrativa Especial de Alimentación Escolar

MSPS. 2016. LA DESNUTRICIÓN INFANTIL EN COLOMBIA: MARCO DE REFERENCIA.

MSPS. 2018. Plan Nacional de Salud Rural.

USAID-FANTA. 2016. Análisis de la situación y tendencias de los micronutrientes clave en Guatemala, con un llamado a la acción desde las políticas públicas.

UNICEF. Los niños son asunto de todos

Question 3: Family farming

Community Based Development (CBD) as a working solution to reducing child labour in the African cocoa sector

According to a study commissioned by the US Department of labour in 2013/14, child labour is extraordinarily high in the cocoa sector, with more than 2 million children are engaged in hazardous work in the cocoa industries of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire alone (Tulane University, 2015). Most of the children in the sector are involved in carrying heavy loads of cocoa beans, firewood and water, with around 20 percent of the children involved in felling trees, burning fields, handling agro-chemicals etc. Boys are more likely to be involved in child labour (60 percent) in the cocoa sector than girls (40 percent) (Nestle, 2017).

Studies have found that most of the children involved in labour in cocoa farming live with their family (Babo, 2019). Expecting parents to remove their children from working in cocoa farms, preventing them from capitalizing on their children’s help to produce cocoa, and sending them to school, without an appropriate solution that would increase the incomes of these cocoa farmers is myopic and not prudent.

Therefore, anti-child labour efforts that do not consider the socio-economic livelihood of cocoa farmers and their families at the heart of its solution will not be fruitful.  Solutions to eradicating child labour and improving children’s development must also encompass the family’s needs in terms of infrastructure and access to health, drinking water, sanitation, education, housing etc. – some of the crucial pillars of alleviating poverty and improving people’s wellbeing.

As a result, over the last fifteen years, initiatives to fight child labour within the cocoa value chain have moved towards overall community development and involving the community in their endeavours – a model now commonly known as community based development (CBD). The Swiss based foundation, International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), as well as programmes run by major cocoa corporations – MARS inc., Hershey’s, Cargill, Nestle, Barry Callibaut – root their efforts in this community approach and saw some successful results (Babo, 2019).

For instance, child labour sensitization and awareness campaigns in remote rural communities increased the communities’ willingness to combat it and resulted in themselves setting up “child labour committees” to fight the exploitation of children in the cocoa sector. Other projects involved building schools, installing drinking water facilities, creating cash crops and small businesses to fund health and education. Communities, such as Campement Paul, and Boignykro in Côte d’Ivoire and Sekyere Krobo in Ghana, are highlighted by ICI as exemplars of effective community-based project implementation (Babo, 2019). Nestle reports that it has been able to reduce child labour by 51 percent over a period of three years through the implementation of its Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS), a system that is based on CBD (Nestle, 2017). Additionally, a study found that Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty grants (LEAP), which is a cash transfer program for the poor and vulnerable (including children) administered by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in Ghana, decreased child labour incidents amongst LEAP beneficiaries in the Ningo-Prampram district (Aculey, 2019).

However, the draft of a report to be released by the US department of Labor in June 2020 found that the proportion of children engaged in child labour in the cocoa sector increased from 30 percent in 2008/09 to 46 percent in 2018/19 (Reuters, 2020). While there has been success in reducing child labour within the sector, the rise in the proportion of children working in the cocoa sector have possibly increased due to increased cocoa prices and production (Reuters, 2020).

The limitations to the further success of CBD is attributed to the communities’ lack of control over the management of financial resources, and a lack of consideration of the ethnic, social, political, economic and historical contexts and differences between each community in CBD efforts (Babo, 2019). Communities that are divided by ethnic, political and land tenure conflicts are unable to cooperate and effectively participate in CBD projects, as was seen in the case of the Soubre region in southern Côte d’Ivoire (Babo, 2019). Therefore, CBD approaches should be implemented keeping the economic, social, historical and political contexts of each community in mind in order to scale reduction of child labour in the cocoa sector.

References:

Aculey, D. 2019. Assessing the effectiveness of livelihood empowerment against poverty to the reduction of child labour in the Ningo-Prampram district. University of Ghana. Accra. (also available at http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh/bitstream/handle/123456789/32596/Assessing%20the%20Effectiveness%20of%20Livelihood%20Empowerment%20against%20Poverty%20to%20the%20Reduction%20of%20Child%20Labour%20in%20the%20Ningo-Prampram%20District.pdf?sequence=1)

Babo, A. 2019. Eliminating child labour in rural areas: Limits of community-based approaches in South-Western Côte d’Ivoire in Ballet, J. and Bhukuth, A. eds. Child exploitation in the Global South. Palgrave.

Nestle. 2017. Nestle Cocoa Plan – Tackling child labour 2017 report. (also available at https://www.nestle.com/sites/default/files/asset-library/documents/creating-shared-value/responsible-sourcing/nestle-cocoa-plan-child-labour-2017-report.pdf)

Reuters. 2020. Child labour still prevalent in West Africa cocoa sector despite industry efforts –report. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. (also available at https://www.reuters.com/article/cocoa-childlabour-ivory-coast-ghana/child-labour-still-prevalent-in-west-africa-cocoa-sector-despite-industry-efforts-report-idUSL5N2BX3KS)

Tulane University. 2015. Survey Research on Child Labor in West African Cocoa Growing Areas 2013/14. US Department of Labor. (also available at https://cocoainitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tulane_university_-_survey_research_on_child_labor_in_the_cocoa_sector_-_30_july_2015.pdf )

Forcing children to work is a way of violating their rights, child labor must be eliminated because it reduces their chances of future development, thereby promoting that new generations of children do not have access to education and are future condemned to deprive yourself of better employment and development opportunities; it is a way of perpetuating poverty.

For many it is common for children to participate in their parents' work activities, but others are used to raise money through money-making practices or in informal jobs. In many communities these are legitimate practices and must be legislated and educated in relation to them.

Enabling families in poorer and more remote areas to enjoy access to internet technology and enjoy public services will allow children to visualize the opportunity to improve the quality of life for their families, access to forms of education and information that allow them to open their minds to new horizons and opportunities.

Agricultural policies aimed at reducing child labor must be articulated with other policies that allow improving the quality of life, reducing poverty and offering jobs that generate sufficient income to meet the basic needs of the family, is one of the ways of reducing the practice of child labor since adults will not have to find this way of earning income for their families.

Agricultural policies and strategies will help reduce child labor by facilitating access to education for the most vulnerable populations in the poorest urban areas and in remote rural areas; This allows adults to understand that it is not an adequate practice, while educated children and adolescents are projecting themselves into the future and will allow them to access opportunities for development and quality of life; Providing children with access to quality education appropriate to their environment will provide a promising future for themselves and their families.

The problem must be made visible both in public policies and in the community in general by carrying out communication and education campaigns that make visible to the community in general the obligation to avoid this practice to protect the present and future well-being of children.

In relation to question # 1, Hunger and malnutrition, I present the arguments related to the importance that education in the rural sector is accompanied by strategies that promote school retention, one of them carried out in Latin American and Caribbean countries is the School Feeding Program (SFP), which provides food to children during the school day and thereby contributes to the child receiving a part of their nutritional requirements; a study carried out by students from the Universidad del Rosario acknowledges “the opportunity cost that families face when sending children to school, which is reduced through the SFP and is reflected in a statistically decrease significant child labor, the theory holds for this document, because household decisions will allow the boy or girl to continue attending school instead of sending them to the labor market and ensuring precarious conditions in their future life. This study concluded that the school feeding program decreases the probability that schoolchildren work by around 4%. In addition, it is explored that child labor is reduced thanks to the fact that the program increases food security, which consequently changes household decisions and cancels the workload on infants”.

Bibliographic references:

Porto Gutiérrez, Indira Margarita. (2016). Impact of the School Feeding Program on Child Labor: An approach from family decision-making. Degree work to obtain the Master's degree in economics. Rosario University, Bogotá, 2016.

Climate change and environmental degradation:

What do we know about the link between climate change and child labour in agriculture? Unfortunately, limited research has been carried out in this aera. We do know that environmental degradation can lead to situations where the prevelance or severity of child labour increases.

Some examples:

• When fisheries resources become depleted or stocks begin to decrease due to over-fishing and insufficient sustainable resource anagement, child labour in fisheries, especially aongst small scale artisanal fisherfolk can increase [1]. As fisherfold are able to catch less fish per outing and may not be able to afford adult labour due to financial restrictions, they engage children at a low cost. Girls typically tend to be more involvedin cleaning, processing and selling, while boys tend to be more engaged on the water including in hazardous tasks such as working on boats, diving to untangle nets or scare fish into nets, fishing at night, boat repair and more [2]. Not only are tasks hazardous but they make it difficult to fully participate in school if at all.
• Due to climate change, water availability is becoming less predictable in many places, this includes the exacerbation of water scarcity. In many countries, e.g. in Sub-Saharan Agrican, women and children are the primary collectors of water. Water collection in many countries can negatibely affect children's schooling [3]. In a study on access to rura water services in Ethiopia, when asked about their perspections of domestic chores, including fetching water for their households, nearly all young girls in Ethiopia felt that it limited their ability to partake and succeed in school [4]. With increased water scarcity, children could be further pulled out of school.

What can be done?

• Large scale climate change related programmes and projects, especially thos eworking in geographic areas or with resources where child labour is prevalent, should consider to include budget measures on addressing child labour in agriculture. For example, an irrigation project in cotton could include a training component on adressing child labour and hazardous work (e.g. pesticides exposures) amongst cotton rgowing communities and agriculture stakeholders.
• If new irrigation schemes are planned the labour demand should be carefully assessed (through a participatory approach) and planned in the preparatory phase of the programme. Not rarely the assumption is that women would provide the needed labour yet they are often already time poor which puts children at risk of spending too many hours undetaking work in the field, instead of fully attending school.

Domestic supply chains:

Currently most attention and almost all dedicated fianncial resources for fighting child labour are allcoated to addressing child labour in global supply chains, while most of child labour in agriculture is not linked to global supply chains, but more often found in domestic and local supply chains and insubsistence farming [4]. We will not reach SDG 8.7 if we continue to leave this larhe group of child labourers behind. More investments and dedicated resources for addressing child labour in agriculture in this context are needed, which is more difficult to address.

In Addition:

I would also like to ponit out the important work of the Alliance 8.7. So far, 21 countries have become Alliance 8.7 Pathfinder countries, thereby planning to lead the way in obtaining SDG 8.7. Nevertheless, this opportunity also requires high level support from the various ministries to ensure that different sectors are fully participating, this includes an active role of the Minsitries of Agriculture, as well as a translation of adopted policies and strategies into concrete action. Producer organizations have certanily an important role to play, like we have, for example, seen in some certification schemes at local level. Yet, at regional and global elvel producer organzaitions have not been very actibe on the topic. In order for advances to be made on the question of child labour, a truly integrated, inter-sectoral, inter-actor engagement is needed.

Finally, I would like to make reference to the docuent that was developed on the decisive role that agricultural stakeholders can play to end child labour in agriculture.

Resources:

[1] ILO Analytical Study on Child Labour in Volta fishing in Ghana: https://www.ilo.org/ipec/Informationresources/WCMS_IPEC_PUB_25876/lang-…

[2] FAO (policy brief) Eliminating Child Labour in Fisheries and Aquaculture:http://www.fao.org/3/CA0177EN/ca0177en.pdf

[3] An Analysis of Water Collection Among Women and Children in 24 Sub-Saharan African Countries: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.01559…

[4] Access to Improve Water Source and Satisfaction with Services: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia: https://www.ircwash.org/sites/default/files/Abebaw-2011-Access.pdf

[5] ILO Global Estimates on Child Labour 2017: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/document…

English translation below

El caso Argentino

En el caso de Argentina, tanto el trabajo infantil como el trabajo adolescente, tienen mayor incidencia en las zonas rurales que en las zonas urbanas.

Según la Encuesta de Actividades de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes 2016-2017, en el país, el 10,0% de los niños y niñas de 5 a 15 años realizan al menos una actividad productiva (trabajo orientado al mercado, actividades de autoconsumo y tareas domésticas de manera intensiva). En las áreas rurales, el porcentaje llega al 19,8%. En el caso de los adolescentes de 16 y 17 años, el 31,9% realiza al menos una actividad productiva, elevándose al 43,5% en las áreas rurales.

Algunas de las herramientas con las que cuenta Argentina para abordar la problemática en relación a las preguntas del cuestionario son las siguientes:

CONAETI

La Comisión Nacional para la Erradicación del Trabajo Infantil (CONAETI), integrada por representantes de los organismos dependientes del Poder Ejecutivo nacional, organizaciones de trabajadores, empleadores y de la sociedad civil. Cuenta con el asesoramiento de las agencias internacionales de cooperación (OIT y UNICEF). La misma tiene entre sus funciones: coordinar, evaluar y dar seguimiento a los esfuerzos para prevenir y erradicar el trabajo infantil.

Por su parte, en la actualidad, Argentina se encuentra ejecutando la tercera versión del Plan Nacional para la Prevención y Erradicación del Trabajo Infantil y Protección del Trabajo Adolescente 2018-2022, diseñado por CONAETI.

Espacios de Atención y Cuidado

Desde 2007, la Coordinación de Políticas de Erradicación del Trabajo Infantil y Protección del Trabajo Adolescente, del Ministerio de Trabajo, empleo y Seguridad Social, promueve y acompaña la política de creación y/o fortalecimiento de espacios de atención y cuidado para niñas, niños y adolescentes. Esta política pública incide, por un lado, en la prevención y erradicación del trabajo infantil, ofreciendo una respuesta para el retiro de los niños y niñas del ámbito laboral y que en su lugar puedan estar en un espacio propicio para su edad; y por otro, ofrece mejoras en las condiciones laborales de los padres/madres de  estos niños/as durante la jornada laboral, permitiéndoles que se ocupen de lleno al trabajo evitando accidentes por tener que estar atendiendo además de la obligación laboral, a sus hijos/as en la cosecha.

A los niños, niñas y adolescentes que participen de estos espacios se les brinda alimentación -desayuno, almuerzo, merienda- y chequeos médicos que permiten derivar al niño, niña o adolescente en caso que necesite atención especial.

Esta política, tiene ciertos estándares mínimos que se requieren para implementarla: todas las iniciativas que se enmarquen en ella deben ser de gestión compartida, es decir que para su existencia es necesario la articulación de recursos de actores de los distintos niveles que se encuentren implicados en la prevención y erradicación del trabajo infantil. Esta articulación permite una mayor sustentabilidad en el tiempo otorgando estabilidad al programa que se implementa. En esta articulación deben estar presentes, tanto el gobierno nacional, provincial y municipal, como los referentes del sector sindical y empresarial.

Por su parte, la Coordinación de Políticas de Prevención del Trabajo Infantil y Protección del Trabajo Adolescente, brinda asistencia técnica a quienes estén interesados en el armado de estos espacios, al tiempo que ofrece asistencia técnica y acompañamiento a los equipos de trabajo de los diferentes espacios de atención y cuidado en las provincias de nuestro país. A la vez, promueve la articulación con los distintos y/o nuevos actores que pueden realizar algún aporte para generar la sinergia necesaria que se requiere para abordar de manera integral y efectiva la problemática.

Como ejemplo pueden mencionarse: el Programa Jardines de Cosecha, implementado en las provincias de Salta y Jujuy, el Programa Buena Cosecha que funciona en la provincia de Mendoza, así como el Programa El trabajo no es cosa de chicos, que se implementa en la Provincia de Santa Fe y los Centros de Cuidado de Niños en la provincia de Tucumán.

Red de Empresas contra el Trabajo Infantil

Este es un espacio de articulación público-privado en el cual se diseñan políticas para el tratamiento de la problemática del trabajo infantil y del trabajo adolescente. Actualmente hay 108 entidades empresarias conformando esta mesa de trabajo articulado. Al formar parte de esta Red, las empresas se comprometen a no contratar mano de obra infantil y a revisar la situación en sus cadenas de valor. Su objetivo primario radica en diseñar y colaborar en planes, programas y proyectos para la prevención y erradicación del trabajo infantil y la protección del trabajo adolescente. Al igual que la CONAETI, la Secretaría Técnica del espacio recae en la Coordinación de Políticas de Erradicación del Trabajo Infantil y Protección del Trabajo Adolescente. A lo largo de los años la Red logró concientizar y comprometer al sector en su conjunto mediante campañas de sensibilización al interior de cada empresa y a la sociedad en general. A su vez, se promueve la incorporación de políticas a proveedores en cada empresa que van, desde cláusulas de no contratación de mano de obra infantil, hasta auditorías y acciones conjuntas que promueven el ejercicio de derechos de sus trabajadores y consecuentemente de sus niños, niñas y adolescentes. Respecto a la intervención concreta, varias entidades empresarias que conforman esta Red llevan adelante iniciativas basadas en las políticas de creación y/o fortalecimiento de espacios de atención y cuidado para niños, niñas y adolescentes.

Asignación Universal por Hijo

La Asignación Universal por Hijo (AUH) es un seguro social que el estado nacional otorga desde 2009 a NNA que pertenezcan a grupos familiares que se encuentren desocupados, se desempeñen en la economía informal, sean monotributistas sociales o empleadas domésticas que perciban un ingreso menor al salario mínimo vital y móvil, hasta los 18 años o sin límite de edad en caso de personas discapacitadas. Es importante destacar que los sujetos de derecho establecidos por la AUH, son los niños, niñas y adolescentes residentes en la República Argentina, y que los padres tienen la obligación de acreditar cumplimiento de controles sanitarios, de vacunación y asistencia al colegio para percibir el seguro. Allí radica la importancia de reforzar esta asignación, porque permite garantizar los derechos a la salud y la educación de niños, niñas y adolescentes. Actualmente, la población de niñas, niños y adolescentes destinataria de la AUH supera los 4.000.000 de beneficiarios que corresponden aproximadamente a 2.400.000 hogares.

Tarjeta Alimentar

La Tarjeta Alimentar está destinada a madres y padres con hijos o hijas de hasta 6 años de edad que reciben la Asignación Universal por Hijo (AUH); embarazadas a partir de los tres meses que cobran la Asignación por Embarazo; y personas con discapacidad que reciben la AUH. Establece un monto de $4.000 para quienes tienen un hijo y de $6.000 para quienes tengan dos o más hijos. Permite comprar todo tipo de alimentos.

Programa Intercosecha

Dirigido a trabajadores temporarios del sector agrario y agroindustrial. Brinda a los trabajadores una ayuda económica no remunerativa durante el receso estacional (por un período máximo de hasta cuatro meses), cursos y/o acciones de capacitación del Plan de Formación Continua, acciones de Entrenamiento para el Trabajo, el Programa de Inserción Laboral, el Programa de Empleo Independiente y Entramados Productivos Locales.

Ingreso Familiar de Emergencia

El Ingreso Familiar de Emergencia (IFE) es un ingreso extraordinario implementado en el marco de la pandemia del COVID-19, que apunta a suplir los recursos de todos aquellos trabajadores autónomos de bajos ingresos e informales, y brinda un ingreso a desocupados, para paliar el impacto de la emergencia sanitaria sobre la economía de las familias argentinas más afectadas, alcanzando la medida a más de 8.000.000 de personas, incluido los padres de NNyA que reciben la AUH.

Links de consulta

Encuesta de Actividades de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes 2016-2017

http://www.trabajo.gob.ar/downloads/estadisticas/eanna/eanna_2da-edicion_201909.pdf

WEB de la CONAETI

https://www.argentina.gob.ar/trabajo/infantil/conaeti

Plan Nacional para la Prevención y Erradicación del Trabajo Infantil y Protección del Trabajo Adolescente 2018-2022

http://www.trabajo.gob.ar/downloads/trabajoinfantilno/trabajoInf_PlanNacional.pdf

Red de Empresas contra el Trabajo Infantil

https://www.argentina.gob.ar/trabajo/infantil/redempresas

Asignación Universal por Hijo

https://www.anses.gob.ar/asignacion-universal-por-hijo

Tarjeta alimentar

https://www.anses.gob.ar/tramite/tarjeta-alimentar

Ingreso Familiar de Emergencia

https://www.anses.gob.ar/ingreso-familiar-de-emergencia

The case of Argentina

In the case of Argentina, both child labour and adolescent labour have a higher incidence in rural areas than in urban areas.

According to the Survey of Activities of Boys, Girls and Adolescents 2016-2017, 10.0% of boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 15 in the country, carry out at least one productive activity (market-oriented work, subsistence activities and intensive housework). In rural areas, the percentage reaches 19.8%. In the case of adolescents aged 16 and 17, 31.9% carry out at least one productive activity, rising to 43.5% in rural areas.

Some of the tools that Argentina has to tackle the problem in relation to the questions in the questionnaire are the following:

CONAETI

The National Commission for the Eradication of Child Labour (CONAETI) is composed of representatives of the agencies under the national Executive Power, organizations of workers, employers and civil society. It receives the advice of international cooperation agencies (ILO and UNICEF). It has among its functions: coordinating, evaluating and monitoring efforts to prevent and eradicate child labour.

For its part, Argentina is currently executing the third version of the National Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour and Protection of Adolescent Labour 2018-2022, designed by CONAETI.

Attention and Care Spaces

Since 2007, the Coordination of Policies for the Eradication of Child Labour and Protection of Adolescent Labour, of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, has promoted and accompanied the policy of creating and / or strengthening spaces for the care for girls, boys and teenagers. This public policy affects, on the one hand, the prevention and eradication of child labour, offering a response to the withdrawal of children from the workplace and that they may instead be in a place conducive to their age; and on the other, it offers improvements in the working conditions of the parents of these children during the working day, allowing them to fully engage in work, avoiding accidents due to having to attend to their work obligation, in addition to their children during harvest.

The children and adolescents who participate in these spaces are provided with food - breakfast, lunch, snacks - and medical check-ups that allow the child or adolescent to be referred in case they need special attention.

This policy has certain minimum standards that are required to implement it: all the initiatives that are part of it must be of shared management, that is to say that for their existence it is necessary to articulate the resources of actors of the different levels that are involved in the prevention and eradication of child labour. This setup allows for greater sustainability over time, giving stability to the program being implemented. In this setup, both the national, provincial and municipal government, as well as the leaders of the union and business sector, must be present.

For its part, the Coordination of Child Labour Prevention and Adolescent Labour Protection Policies provides technical assistance to those interested in setting up these spaces, while offering technical assistance and accompaniment to the work teams in the different spaces of attention and care in the provinces of our country. At the same time, it promotes collaboration with the different and / or new actors that can make a contribution to generate the necessary synergy that is required to comprehensively and effectively address the problem.

As an example we can mention: the Harvest Gardens Program, implemented in the provinces of Salta and Jujuy, the Good Harvest Program that operates in the province of Mendoza, as well as the Work is not a Boy Program, which is implemented in the Province de Santa Fe and Child Care Centres in the province of Tucumán.

Network of Companies against Child Labour

This is a space for public-private coordination in which policies are designed to deal with the problem of child labour and adolescent work. There are currently 108 business entities forming this articulated work group. By being part of this Network, companies commit to not hiring child labour and to review the situation in their value chains. Its primary objective is to design and collaborate on plans, programs and projects for the prevention and eradication of child labour and the protection of adolescent work. Like CONAETI, the Technical Secretariat of the space is the responsibility of the Coordination of Policies for the Eradication of Child Labour and Protection of Adolescent Labour. Over the years the Network managed to raise awareness and engage the sector as a whole through awareness campaigns within each company and to society in general. In turn, the incorporation of policies to suppliers in each company is promoted, ranging from clauses on non-contracting of child labour, to audits and joint actions that promote the exercise of the rights of its workers and consequently of its children. and adolescents. Regarding concrete interventions, several business entities that make up this Network carry out initiatives based on the policies of creating and / or strengthening spaces for care and attention for children and adolescents.

Universal Child Allowance

The Universal Child Allowance (AUH) is a social security system that the national state has granted since 2009 to children who belong to family groups that are unemployed, work in the informal economy, are low-income social welfare taxpayers or domestic servants who earn less than minimum wage, up to 18 years old or without age limit in the case of disabled people. It is important to highlight that the subjects of law established by the AUH are the children and adolescents residing in the Argentine Republic, and that the parents have the obligation to prove compliance with sanitary controls, vaccination and school attendance to receive insurance. Therein lies the importance of reinforcing this allocation, because it guarantees the rights to health and education of children and adolescents. Currently, the AUH target population of girls, boys and adolescents exceeds 4,000,000 beneficiaries, corresponding to approximately 2,400,000 households.

Food Card

The Food Card is intended for mothers and fathers with sons or daughters up to 6 years of age who receive the Universal Child Allowance (AUH); pregnant women from the three months they receive the Pregnancy Allowance; and people with disabilities who receive the AUH. It establishes an amount of $ 4,000 for those who have a child and $ 6,000 for those who have two or more children. It allows buying all kinds of food.

Interharvest Program

Aimed at temporary workers in the agricultural and agro-industrial sector. It provides workers with non-remunerative financial aid during the seasonal recess (for a maximum period of up to four months), courses and / or training actions of the Continuous Training Plan, Work Training actions, the Labour Insertion Program, the Independent Employment Program and Local Productive Networks.

Emergency Family Income

The Emergency Family Income (IFE) is an extraordinary income implemented in the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic, which aims to supply the resources of all those low-income and informal self-employed workers, and provides an income for the unemployed, to alleviate the impact of the health emergency on the economy of the most affected Argentine families, extending the measure to more than 8,000,000 people, including the parents of children and adolescents who receive the AUH.

Consultation links

Survey of Activities of Boys, Girls and Adolescents 2016-2017

http://www.trabajo.gob.ar/downloads/estadisticas/eanna/eanna_2da-edicion_201909.pdf

CONAETI WEBSITE

https://www.argentina.gob.ar/trabajo/infantil/conaeti

National Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor and Protection of Adolescent Labor 2018-2022

http://www.trabajo.gob.ar/downloads/trabajoinfantilno/trabajoInf_PlanNacional.pdf

Network of Companies against Child Labor

https://www.argentina.gob.ar/trabajo/infantil/redempresas

Universal Child Allowance

https://www.anses.gob.ar/asignacion-universal-por-hijo

Food card

https://www.anses.gob.ar/tramite/tarjeta-alimentar

Emergency Family Income

https://www.anses.gob.ar/ingreso-familiar-de-emergencia

 

Cross-sectoral policies and strategies: social protection

Cash transfers are increasingly used as a way of addressing poverty across the world. Evidence shows that they can have a positive impact on children’s welfare, improving access to education, nutrition, health and material wellbeing. However, much less is known about their impact on child labour.

In a recent literatire review, The effect of cash transfers on child labour: a review of evidence from rural contexts, the International Cocoa Initiative analysed 21 studies of cash transfer programmes across Asia, Africa and Latin America. The review focused specifically on impacts of cash transfers in rural contexts. Building upon two earlier reviews, it incorporates several studies from the past five years, providing an important addition to the knowledge base on this topic.

Another recent study looks at the impact of income changes (increases and decreases) as a result of shocks and social policies: ICI (2020) The effects of income changes on child labour A review of evidence from smallholder agriculture

Family farming – Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation Systems

In cocoa production in West Africa, most child labour takes place on family farms.[1] In this context, Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation Systems (CLMRS) are becoming an increasingly common approach to identify children at risk, raise awareness and provide support to children, families and households to prevent and remediate child labour.

Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation Systems can reduce the prevalence of hazardous child labour among identified cases by up to 50%, according to recent analysis of data from 14,500 children.[2]

Today, CLMRS are estimated to cover at 15% of cocoa-producing households in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana and in recent months, several cocoa and chocolate companies have pledged to extend their coverage as a means of meeting their obligation to conduct human rights due diligence measures. Certifiers, such Rainforest Alliance are also building in the requirement for CLMRS where risks are identified.[3]

In 2017, the International Cocoa Initiative conducted a Effectiveness Review of Child Labour Monitoring Systems in the Smallholder Agricultural Sector of Sub-Saharan Africa, whichi identified that while these monitoring systems share several key features – training and awareness-raising, monitoring visits, data collection, response, tracking and partnerships – there are many different approaches.[4]

To better understand how the different design features of Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation Systems relate to their effectiveness – identifying children in child labour and supporting children stop doing hazardous work – a second phase of the study is underway. Based on data shared from 12 different CLMRS projects in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana and covering more than 200,000 children, the findings will be used to improve the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of such systems and facilitate scale-up. The study will be published later this year.

Question 3: Family farming

Based on our field experience the following policies and strategies have proved to have a positive impact:                        

1) Company policies that create transparent child work / child labor guidelines that do not exclude ALL work for children, but allow some involvement with sufficient protection can be a guidance for parents ( limited impact data -  but see e.g. CCR CCSR study on home workers. https://www.ccrcsr.com/resource/1026). This pragmatic approach can increase school attendance and help parents to enable their children, while still including them in the family business.

2) Create decent work opportunities for children in working age and hazardous work. This has shown as an effective way of pulling children out of situations of child labor (https://www.ccrcsr.com/content/inclusion-young-workers-ikea’s-supply-chain-phase-ii) 

3) Create strong Child Labor Remediation system also for agriculture setting, where companies take direct responsibility for CL in their supply chains and fund remediation activities that provide school integration ( public or alternative programs), living stipends and ongoing support and child protection for the children involved in line with CCR CSR tested child labor program (https://www.ccrcsr.com/content/child-labour)

4) Addressing poverty and vulnerability requires not only taking measures on Child Labor, but also in relation to migrant parent workers and young workers. Save the Children has, through CCR CSR, expertise on how to do this in practice (https://www.ccrcsr.com/content/migrant-parent-workers, https://www.ccrcsr.com/content/juvenile-and-student-worker-management)

Mattia Fosberg, Senior Advisor, Child Rights and Business

Save the Children

Question 5: Public and private investment

We have seen an increased attention and commitment by the private sector to create a positive impact along its supply chain. For example, Lavazza decided to shape this commitment and begun an engaging process involving its suppliers along the whole supply chain. The first actions put in place were: revision of supplier’s code of conduct, organization of webinar dedicated to sustainability, public conventions and questionnaires for suppliers. These initiatives had the purpose of defining common goals and sharing values and expectations. After two years, the company decided to take one step forward and go on the field, at the beginning of the supply chain, where suppliers operate.

Elena Avenati, International Advocacy & Policy, Private Sector and SDGs Manager

Save the Children

I once worked on a project of the International Labour Organization in El Salvador that addressed child labour in shellfish harvesting. The conditions faced by children as young as five were terrible. Children climbed among mangrove swamps to collect the shellfish, working in hot temperatures for long hours, smoking cigars to keep mosquitos away, and taking amphetamines to maintain their energy.

It was clear that these children were missing out on their childhood and suffering physical and emotional consequences that would last a lifetime.  The project worked with the Ministry of Education to set up non-formal education centers to provide accelerated education and get children re-enrolled in formal school. Alternative income generating schemes were supported so that parents could increase their income and replace the money their children were earning.

Awareness raising was very important as well. Children’s participation was encouraged through ILO’s SCREAM methodology, so children would feel empowered to make a demand for education and proper treatment to their parents, schools and communities.  Many of the children lived on an island called Isla de Espiritu Santo. Community based child protection and monitoring committees were established, and local leaders were engaged in the cause. 

Like many agricultural supply chains, this one was strictly domestic. Middlemen bought the shellfish and they were sold on the menus of local restaurants and in the capital, San Salvador.  Ask any Salvadoran about the shellfish, called curiles, and they will confirm that they are a national delicacy. So it was important to engage restaurants and intermediaries, raise awareness about the problem, and encourage them to not use child labour in the supply chain.

Nationally, the project made a huge effort to change perceptions about child labour. Little by little, things changed and there was a greater understanding of the hazards of child labour, and the importance of education.

I had the opportunity to return to Isla de Espiritu Santo a couple of years after the project ended and I had left El Salvador.  It was very gratifying to the see that the child protection committees were still functional, the operation of the non-formal education centers had been taken over by the Ministry of Education, and according to reports from local NGOs, by and large there were no more children involved in shellfish harvesting.