ACCEL Africa - Uganda

Child labour remains a serious problem with 2,048,000 children out of the 8,973,000 aged 5-17 engaged in some form of child labour, which constitute 14 percent of all children nationally(Uganda National Household Survey 2016/17). 

The educational achievement of these children is at risk because either they do not attend school or their schooling suffers from long hours dedicated to work. Child labour is found in agriculture, transport, mining and related sectors, fishing, construction, the urban informal sector, domestic service and commercial sexual exploitation of children.

Uganda is Africa’s second largest producer and exporter of tea after Kenya, and its production and exports have witnessed substantial increases in recent years.

Coffee and tea are among the listed goods, which are produced with forced labour (USDOL list of goods) with coffee being the main foreign exchange earner in Uganda, and widely grown.

Under Accel Africa the focus will be put on the elimination of child labour in the tea and coffee supply chains.

Latest

  1. Terms of Reference-Recruitment of a consultant for the development of a Child Labour Training Package for Businesses

    24 November 2021

    This assignment aims as a General Objective to produce a training tool to strengthen the capacity of businesses to apply the ILO-IOE guidance tool in their child labour due diligence efforts. The training tool will provide specific examples, practical checklists, concrete case studies and scenarios that will foster a more practical implementation of the ILO-IOE guidelines.

  2. ILO collaborates with NASCENT Research and Development Organisation to implement direct interventions to eliminate child labour within communities in Uganda

    28 October 2021

    The program of action will support children aged 14-17 years in vocational training and provide post-training support and transition from school to work, as well as referral of children to the formal education system.

  3. How COVID-19 has Accelerated Child Labour in the Construction Sector

    12 June 2021

    Coronavirus (Covid-19) forced child labour laws and law enforcers on a halt. As government announced a total lockdown, the construction sector was considered an essential service in Uganda so it was one of those that continued to operate in this period. However, other sectors which would have checked child labour in the construction sector were shut down. This promoted child labour.

  4. Journalists have a key role to play in the collective effort to eliminate child labour

    04 June 2021

    Through the Accel Africa Reporting on child labour in Africa course, learners are introduced to a number of different issues, including international labour standards, ethical reporting of child-related information, or collecting testimonies from vulnerable sources of information. They also learn about the relevant context of child labour in agricultural supply chains, such as in the tobacco, cotton or cocoa industries.

  5. Uganda's National Plan of Action on Child Labour will strengthen country's prevention and protection of children at risk and working children mechanisms.

    01 June 2021

    The President of Uganda, His Excellency Yoweri Museveni had launched the National Employment Policy (2011), the National Child Labour Policy (2006) and the Second National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour (NAP II 2020/21 - 2024/25) during the national commemoration of the International Labour Day.