The 12-month initiative, led by UNICEF Ghana in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Jobs and Employment and the Government of Japan, will target child labour in agriculture, mining and fisheries.
The project will be implemented in the Ashanti, Eastern, Western North, Ahafo and Central regions, focusing on communities with high prevalence of child labour.
The programme seeks to address the root causes of child labour by strengthening social protection systems, expanding monitoring frameworks and integrating digital solutions.
As part of the intervention, the Ghana Child Labour Monitoring System will be upgraded to improve identification, reporting and case management, while promoting environmentally sustainable practices in communities affected by climate change and illegal mining.
The initiative is expected to directly benefit more than 13,000 children and caregivers and expand Child Labour Free Zones — a community-based model that ensures children are withdrawn from labour and enrolled in school.
The launch comes at a time when approximately 1.1 million children are engaged in child labour in Ghana, with funding and capacity constraints continuing to hinder national response efforts.
Mr Osama Makkawi Khogali, UNICEF Representative in Ghana, said the programme adopted a holistic approach to child protection.
“Everything is connected: a child’s protection, their education, and their family’s economic resilience,” he said.
He explained that digital tools would be deployed to make vulnerable children more visible to social services and strengthen support systems for families.
Mr Hiroshi Yoshimoto, Japan’s Ambassador to Ghana, said the partnership demonstrated Japan’s commitment to advancing economic development while safeguarding human rights.
He noted that the initiative would leverage Japanese innovation and private-sector expertise to support Ghana’s efforts to eliminate child labour and promote responsible business practices.
Dr Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment, described child labour as a major development challenge that undermined the country’s future growth prospects.
He said government would lead coordination efforts to ensure effective implementation, with the expansion of Child Labour Free Zones serving as a key strategy.
The project is expected to reach 13,100 direct beneficiaries, including 9,000 children and 4,100 caregivers, and provide case management and psychosocial support to about 6,000 vulnerable children.
Additionally, about 100 stakeholders will be trained in ethical business practices and child safeguarding.
The programme will integrate four major public and private data systems to enable real-time monitoring of child labour cases, while promoting gender inclusion in district-level planning and protecting adolescent girls from exploitation.
It is also expected to reduce community tensions over land and water resources by improving access to social services, as Ghana faces an estimated 85 per cent funding gap in efforts to eliminate child labour.
GHBUSS
March 27, 2026
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