By Mercy Matonga:
The Ministry of Labour has said over two million children have been in child labour in the country.
Responsible minister Peter Dimba said this in Lilongwe Thursday ahead of the World Day Against Child Labour, which falls on June 20.
Dimba said there was a need to accelerate efforts and drive meaningful change to address the root causes of child labour.
“We have to mitigate any harmful gender norms and other forms of discrimination that put children in situations of vulnerability,” Dimba said.
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He also said child labour could be dealt with by expanding decent work opportunities for adults, strengthening social protection systems and ensuring access to quality education for all children.
“This initiative aims to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and support the creation of decent jobs and extend social protection to people who are excluded,” Dimba said.
On his part, Employers Consultative Association of Malawi Executive Director George Matipwiri said they were working hard to sensitise people to issues such as the dangers of child labour.
“We are glad that we are working with the Ministry of Labour in sensitising people to issues such as the negative impacts of child labour. The intervention has yielded positive results,” Matipwiri sad.
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Globally, the day is observed on June 12 but here in Malawi the day will be commemorated in Machinga under the theme ‘Progress Is Clear, but There’s More To Do: Let’s Speed Up Efforts’.
