From Africa Recovery, Vol.11#3 (February 1998), Briefs page

World Bank considers child labour conditionality

The World Bank's board has endorsed a paper which recommends integrating concerns about child labour into its lending programmes. According to the paper, Bank programmes would be closely monitored for their effects on child labour and such issues would be included in policy discussions with countries where harmful child labour is a serious problem. To ensure that Bank projects do not contribute to the practice, its loan agreements would include "appropriate safeguards," according to the paper's recommendations.

Although the internationally recommended minimum age for work is 15 years, the International Labour Organization estimated that more than 73 million children aged 10-14 were economically active in 1995, representing 13.2 per cent of all children in that age group worldwide. The greatest number were found in Asia, with 44.6 million, or 13 per cent in the region. Africa followed with 23.6 million, but its rate was by far the highest, at 26.3 per cent, while Latin America came in third, at 5.1 million and 9.8 per cent.

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