Gospel for Asia says that at least 150 million children are forced to work THERE are more than 200 million child labourers around the world, and at least 150 million are in forced labour, a new report says. The report, Child Labour: Not gone, but forgotten, was published by Gospel for Asia (GFA) last week. It lists Bangladesh, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, and India as the countries where child labour is most prevalent.
It says:
“Childhood is an essential, formative time of life — one which many child labourers must leave too quickly. Their lives may long bear the physical, emotional, and physiological consequences of their early adulthood.
“Many child labourers, regardless of whether they are considered forced or not, lack the chance of acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to extract themselves from the poverty they were born or thrust into by circumstances.
“Many enter adulthood with no means of securing a better life and with few options for jobs, which extends the continuum of generational poverty to their own children.”
The report also says that an estimated 2.7 million children around the world die every year from work-related injuries and illnesses.
It quotes the director-general of the International Labour Organization, Guy Ryder: “If these were the victims of a war, we would be talking a lot about it. Children and young workers are at greater risk and suffer disproportionately and with longer-lasting consequences.”
The founder of Gospel for Asia (GFA), Dr. K.P. Yohannan, said: “The exploitation and abuse that children face in many parts of the world right now is staggeringly evil and beyond shocking…
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Read more about the Gospel for Asia special report on the Child Labor: Not Gone, but Forgotten — Millions of Children Trapped between Extreme Poverty and the Profits of Others.
