Ministry of Labour says 2.1 million children aged between 5 to 17 are involved in child labour in Malawi.
This was disclosed during the inauguration ceremony of a project called Joining Forces for Africa: Acting to End Child Labour (JOFA-ACTE) held at Liwera Primary School in Lilongwe.
The project aims at mitigating child labor in the country.
Officially inaugurating the project, Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Labour Wezi Kayira toured mining sites in Traditional Authority (T/A) Chimutu where children are involved in child labor.
“It is shocking that 2.1 million children aged 5-17 are engaged in child labour in Malawi, including in mining sites and tobacco estates, representing 38 percent of children in this age group,” said Kayira.
During the event, Ambassador of the European Union to Malawi Rune Skinnebach donated balls to students at Liwera Primary School in a bid to allow children play instead of involving themselves into child labor.
Country Director of Plan International Malawi, Mwape Mulumbi, appreciated the work duty bearers are doing in an effort to end child labor.
“We are driven by the rights of children in their voices and we stand united in our commitment to rescue instances of child labor in the next few years,” she said.
The project is being funded by the European Union (EU) and it is expected to be rolled out in Lilongwe and Ntchisi districts by Save the Children and Plan International Malawi.
Among other countries rolling out the same project are Mali, Madagascar and Burkina Faso and it will run from 2023-2025.
