‘Millions of children may be pushed to work due to Covid’

Millions more children the world over risk being pushed into labour as a result of the crisis caused by Covid-19, which could lead to the first increase in child labour in 20 years, as per a new report by UN agencies released on Friday.

Child labour declined by 94 million since 2000, but job losses and rising poverty because of the lockdown and sickness is likely to force more children into exploitative and hazardous jobs as families use every means to earn money and survive, said the joint report by Unicef the and International Labour Organization (ILO) released to mark the world day against child labour, June 12. Temporary school closures to prevent spread of Covid-19 are affecting more than 1 billion students in 130 countries.

Gender inequalities are likely to grow more acute. “We need to make sure that children are kept in schools. Social protection and cash transfer programmes for families that have been affected the most is essential,” said Soledad Herrero, Unicef’s chief of child protection in India.

“Children are the worst impacted in any form of disaster. One prevailing perception that will go against children is that children are not affected by this virus,” said Anindit Roy Choudhary, director of programmes and policy impact at the child rights organisation Save the Children (India). Financial distress also increases the risk of child trafficking. Social protection, easier access to credit, job creation, frequent labour inspections and tighter law enforcement, and measures to get children back into school can help mitigate the crises.