World Day Against Child Labour: Raising awareness against exploitation of kids

Child labour across the globe has risen to 160 million with an increase of 8.4 million in the last four years. The pandemic is putting many more children at risk.

New Delhi: Today is World Day Against Child Labour and in a country like India, the day hold special significance as thousands of children, forced by poverty, have to work, many a times giving up on their education.

Union minister of health and family welfare, Harsh Vardhan also took it his official Twitter handle to raise this issue. He wrote “A child is meant to learn, not to earn! The #pandemic has led to an increase in child labour globally. On #WorldDayAgainstChildLabour let’s pledge to act now to end child labour and bring joy, knowledge & prosperity in lives of little ones.”

According to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Unicef, child labour across the globe has risen to 160 million with an increase of 8.4 million children working in the last four years. The report warned that the efforts to end child labour has stalled for the first time in 20 years.

The report titled "Child Labour: Global estimates 2020, trends and the road forward" was released ahead of World Day Against Child Labour, which is celebrated every year on June 12 worldwide. "We are losing ground in the fight against child labour, and the last year has not made that fight any easier. Now, well into the second year of global lockdowns, school closures, economic disruptions, and shrinking national budgets, families are forced to make heartbreaking choices," said Henrietta Fore, Unicef's executive director in a statement.

Child Labour is a menace that the world still has to deal with, now more than ever, as the COVID-19 pandemic has left many children vulnerable. World Day Against Child Labour raises awareness regarding the detrimental consequences of the same.

World Day Against Child Labour: Some facts

History: International Labour Organization recognized June 12 as the 'World Day Against Child Labour' back in 2002.

Point to note: 'Act Now: End Child Labour’ has been the theme, but the progress that was brought about in the pre-COVID years has now been reversed and stalled.

Significance: As people are slowly heading towards the new normal, everyone should gear up to try and eradicate child labour. Today's significance should be a wake-up call for governments across the world.