Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Ghana (Ratification: 2000)

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clauses (b) and (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, and for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. Noting with regret the lack of information in the Government’s report in this regard, the Committee once again requests the Government to take measures to ensure that information is collected on the application in practice of sections 101(A)(2)(b) and 200B(4) of the Criminal Offences Act, in terms of the number of prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied, and to provide these statistics once collected.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee notes the Government’s information relating to the various social intervention programmes it continues to provide to ease the financial burden on parents and guardians to provide quality education to children. For instance, at the basic school level, in 2023, the Government provided feeding grants for 7,500 children in special schools; capitation grants to all public schools across the country; and learning grants to 10,579 basic schools to support the implementation of School Performance Improvement Plans (SPIPs). In addition, 70,000 Basic School teachers were also trained on differentiated learning approaches in teaching as part of efforts to enhance the overall quality of education and improve learning outcomes in the country. The Government indicates that school enrolment has increased to about 98 per cent at the primary level, but that some dropouts still occur, with 192,500 students having dropped out in 2022 (102,000 girls and 90,500 boys). Recalling that education is key in preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to improve enrolment rates and reduce drop-out rates, both at the primary and lower secondary education levels, and to continue to provide up-to-date statistical information in this regard.

Article 7(2)(d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Child orphans of HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable children (OVC). The Committee notes the Government’s information that programmes and projects are ongoing which are geared towards protecting the rights of children in all groups, including OVCs and orphans of HIV/AIDS. The Government also indicates that continuous awareness-raising efforts are being carried out through collaborations with major stakeholders, including the District Assemblies, the District Child Protection Committees (DCPCs), the Community Child Protection Committees (CCPCs), traditional authorities and civil society organizations, to ensure child are protected. The Committee notes that, according to UNAIDS 2024 estimates, the number of children under 17 who have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS remains high at approximately 240,000. Recalling that OVCs are at a greater risk of being involved in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee once again encourages the Government to strengthen its efforts to protect child victims and orphans of HIV/AIDS from the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide specific information on the impact of the measures taken in this regard, including as regards the number of orphans who have been reached through such initiatives.

Article 8. International Cooperation and assistance. Elimination of poverty. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the impact of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme on reducing child labour, including hazardous or exploitative work, has been positive, as it continues to increase school enrolment and improve household well-being. The Committee notes, however, that according to the document of the Ghana Accelerated Action Plan against Child Labour (NPA3, 2023–2027), child labour in Ghana occurs most often when families face poverty, financial challenges or uncertainty. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, almost three out of four children in Ghana lived in multidimensional poverty and one in four lives in monetary poverty, and the recent economic challenges and cost of living crisis – especially coupled with increasing inflation in Ghana – pushed more households into poverty, therefore heightening risks of child labour and economic exploitation. The Committee therefore requests the Government to supply specific information on the impact of the measures taken, or of any other poverty reduction or social protection programmes, on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.