Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar: Preventing child labour in the livestock and fisheries sectors
In a bid to enhance institutional mechanisms for the prevention of child labour in the livestock and fisheries sectors, a series of five, one-day workshops were held this month in mainland Tanzania (Dar es Salaam, 6-8 March 2013) and Zanzibar (Maruhubi, 11-12 March 2013). The workshops were jointly organized by FAO and the Ministries of Livestock and Fisheries Development (MLFD) in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar and were held at the ministries themselves. The Child Labour Units of the respective Ministries of Labour and Employment (MoLE), as well as the ILO also collaborated on the initiative.
Children in Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar are often engaged in fishing and livestock rearing, where they are exposed to various forms of hazardous work. In these contexts, children are often at risk of injury from tools or animal bites; they can suffer from overexertion, develop work-related physical and mental health problems, or be at greater risk of drowning and contracting serious waterborne diseases. The capacity development workshops, which took place under the framework of the National Action Plans for the Elimination of Child Labor in the United Republic of Tanzania, aimed to bring together national labour and agricultural stakeholders in order to improve their collaboration and coordination efforts in combating child labour in these sectors.
Overall, some 84 directors and technical staff from the MLFD and MoLE participated in the trainings. Through workshop presentations and discussions facilitated by FAO, participants gained valuable knowledge of the distinction between acceptable children’s work and child labour, relevant national legislation and the particular hazards faced by children in the fisheries and livestock sectors.
Existing national action plans and coordinating mechanisms were also reviewed, and special focus was given to the valuable role that agricultural stakeholders can play in preventing and reducing child labour. Participants were also encouraged to develop innovative solutions geared towards addressing the root causes of child labour, and to propose ways in which these could be integrated into the ministries’ regular activities.
In this regard, the ministries prioritized activities such as strengthening the knowledge base by having statistics on child labour specifically in fisheries and specifically in livestock, integrating child labour concerns into extension guidelines and building the capacities of district livestock officers and beach management units to reduce child labour. Participants considered that close collaboration between the ministries of fisheries and livestock and ministries of labour would be essential as the ministries move from planning into action.
Contact in FAO Tanzania:
Eliamoni Lyatuu: [email protected]
Contact in FAO Headquarters:
Jacqueline Demeranville: [email protected]