UN International Labour Organisation has revealed that 168 million children, between the ages of five and 14, around the world, including Nigeria, work in conditions considered to be hazardous to their health.
168 million children are used for labour jobs all over the world.
This was recently revealed in a statement by the United Nations to mark the ‘2015 World Day Against Child Labour,’ where the global body is calling for the international community to invest in quality education as a key step in the fight against child employment.
According to the UN International Labour Organisation, child labour keeps young children out of school and ensures that their hopes for a more prosperous future remain unrealised.
Speaking on the issue, the ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder said that 168 million children, between the ages of five and 14, around the world, including Nigeria, work in conditions considered to be hazardous to their health.
“As a region, Asia and the Pacific still have the largest total numbers at 78 million but Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region with the highest incidence of child labour with some 59 million, or over 21 per cent of the child population, engaged in work which, more often than not, entails long hours in agricultural and services industries,” Ryder said.
The UN also noted that the child labour situation was also being further aggravated by the prevalence of conflicts and crises around the globe as schoolchildren, educational facilities, and teachers suffered undue hardships caused by incessant violence.