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Technical Cooperation Project Summary

Project Title

Supporting the Timebound Program on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in Pakistan

Region/Country

ASIA/Pakistan

Project Duration

September 30, 2003 – September 30, 2008

Fiscal Year & Funding Level

FY 2003: USD 4,008,360

Problem to be Addressed

Child labor is widespread in Pakistan.  Children work in agriculture, domestic service, street vending, and perform hazardous tasks in leather tanneries, surgical instrument manufacturing, coal mines, deep-sea fishing, and brick kilns, among other activities.  Reports also indicate that bonded child labor is used in various sectors. 

RESULTS

The project withdrew 10,217 and prevented 1,834 children from work in surgical instrument manufacturing, leather tanneries, coal mines, glass bangle production, rag-picking, and deep-sea fishing.  The project was implemented at the national level and in the following districts and cities: Sialkot, Kasur, Chakwal, Shangla, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Gwadar.

Project Objectives

Support the Government of Pakistan (GOP) and its social partners in eliminating selected worst forms of child labor (WFCL) in line with the GOP’s National Policy and Plan of Action to Combat Child Labor. 

Intermediate objectives included:

  • Strengthen national institutions and policies regarding child labor and education;
  • Raise awareness and change attitudes concerning WFCL;
  • Incorporate educational and training needs of working children in national and local policies and resource allocation decisions;
  • Link working children and their families with credit institutions and improve their access to social safety nets; and
  • Expand the access of children in the WFCL to formal and non-formal education and vocational training.

Summary of Activities
  • Conducted studies on the prevalence of  WFCL and on models of intervention;
  • Improved capacity and knowledge at the local level to better identify and monitor child labor;
  • Provided alternatives to child labor, including formal, non-formal or transitional education, and vocational training, through direct action interventions for children engaged in WFCL;
  • Increased economic security of families who withdraw children from work through improved access to income generation programs; 
  • Implemented awareness-raising programs to change attitudes and build alliances;
  • Reformed legislation regarding WFCL and strengthened linkages to education and poverty reduction programs; and
  • Improved the capacity of the national and provincial governments to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the National Plan of Action. 

Grantee

International Labor Organization’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC)

Implementing Partners

National Rural Support Program (NRSP); Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA); SUDHAAR; Taraqee Foundation; BUNYAD Literacy Community Council (BLCC); Serhad Rural Support Program (SRSP)

Contact Information

Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT)

(202) 693-4843