Luanda – Angola’s National Children Institute (INAC) recorded between 2020 and 2021 a total of 17,890 cases of child labour all over the country, the director of the institution, Paulo Kalesi, has said.
The provinces with the highest incidence and practice of exploitation of minors are Huíla, Namibe, Bengo, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, mostly in in activities like fishing and street vending, as well as in the border areas of Cunene, Cabinda and Zaire, where children are used to transport goods.
According to the official, who was speaking to ANGOP on the World Day against Child Labour (June 12), when children are exposed to such situation they run many risks of abuse, tend to be aggressive, can acquire health problems and early aging, as well as are prone to crime, in addition to the psychological consequences that in most cases are irreversible.
The INAC director added that some parents submit their children to child labour because they believe they can and should contribute to the household expenses, without realizing that this is a form of aggression that mutilates and destabilizes the family and exposes the child to daily dangers.
The World Day Against Child Labour was established in 2002 by the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations agency, to promote the right of all children to be protected from exploitation and other violations of their fundamental human rights and to combat all forms of child labour.
The date aims to alert the population to the fact that many children are forced to work every day when they should be in school learning and building a better future for themselves and their families.
According to the ILO, 168 million children around the world are involved in child labour. This number represents about 11% of the child population.
Children performing hazardous work that directly jeopardizes their health, safety, and moral development make up more than half of child labourers, with a total of 85 million in absolute terms.
Of the total number of working children in the world, about 200 million of them have no weekly rest period.
For Angola’s sociologist Victor Emanuel, poverty, poor quality education, and cultural issues are some of the causes of child labour.
The sociologist added that the entry of children and adolescents into the labour market may or may not be related to the family profile, underscoring the need to root out the myths that still revolve around the issue.
