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Anti-Child Labor Advocacy

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Child labor in the Philippines

Around 3 million Filipino children are involved in the most hazardous forms of work. Child labor is a result of poverty and the lack of decent and productive jobs. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has the highest incidence of child labor and poverty in the Philippines.

How does child labor deprive children of their childhood?How does child labor deprive children of their childhood?

Children working in hazardous environments might be placed in immediate physical danger.
Working long hours in unfavorable conditions endangers their physical and mental development.
Child laborers are at greater risk of abuse, exploitation and violence.
Child labor cuts children off from schooling, depriving them of education.

What is ChildFund doing to effectively combat child labor in crop agriculture?

With funding from the U.S. Department of Labor, we work with 3 civil society partners to better understand and address child labor and promote acceptable conditions of work through the Building Capacity, Awareness, Advocacy and Programs (BuildCA2P) project. Our work involves identifying, documenting, tracking and referring child labor cases. We also help our partners raise public awareness of the issue by developing advocacy plans and communication materials.

In 2023, ChildFund Philippines, in partnership with Kaanib Foundation and HaUman Assn. Inc., as co-implementer, started implementing a new project called Project Sustainable Programs for Education, Advocacies and Knowledge (Project SPEAK). The initiative is a two-year project funded by the European Union Commission. It will be implemented in the Municipality of Carmen, Davao Del Norte, the Municipality of Malaybalay, Bukidnon, and the Municipality of Alamada, North Cotabato. The project will focus on the EU priorities, including supporting a community-based approach to combatting child labor in hazardous industries, particularly in the agricultural sector. It will strengthen the capacities of CSOs in undertaking policy advocacy work with LGUs and LAs to advance children’s rights, increase stakeholder’s participation in ending child labor in all its forms, and promote multi-agency collaboration and cooperation on child labor issue.