ILO Partners Institutions to Extend Social Protection to Combat Child Labour in Nigeria

By Asmau Abdullahi
 
The International Labour Organization (ILO), through the Accel Africa Project, partners with social protection institutions and health commissions at the national and state levels to deliberate on the extension of social protection coverage in Nigeria.  
 
In a three-day workshop and strategic planning meeting, held from March 11 to 13, 2025, in Ondo State, stakeholders recognized the importance of social protection in preventing and eliminating child labour in global supply chains. 
 
The essence of expanding health insurance coverage and other schemes to workers in the lower levels of the supply chains with focus onvulnerable individuals and households in Ondo and Osun States was deliberated extensively. 
 
The National Coordinator of the ACCEL Africa Project Phase II, Ms. Celine Oni, stated, “The ILO has been working over the years, with other UN agencies to eliminate child labour globally.   The Accel Africa project aims to eradicate the menace in the cocoa and the artisanal, small scale gold mining supply chains in Nigeria and other supply chains like cotton, tea and coffee in Africa.
 
“One of the root causes of child labour is the lack of access to social protection. So recently, within the last three days, the Accel Africa project held a strategic planning meeting with relevant stakeholders, on the extension of social protection coverage to different communities commencing with Ondo and Osun states in Nigeria.
 
“The strategy for implementation and state action plans have been developed for Ondo and Osun. The terms of reference, to guide the establishedtechnical working group, has also been put in place for effective monitoring and evaluation ofthe implementation of the states’ action plans”. 
 
One of the very important decisions reached at the meeting was the need to expand the National Social register to ensure inclusion of vulnerable individuals and households at the risk of child labour. 
 
Stakeholders noted that, “This would ensure theiraccess to different social protection, coverage through health insurance and conditional cash transfer schemes, that are available in the country, especially the non-contributory as well as the contributory schemes”.
 
Meanwhile, child labour remains a pervasive issue across many regions of Africa, particularly in sectors like agriculture, mining, and domestic work, where labour laws and regulations are often poorly enforced. In many cases, families rely on the income of their children to make ends meet, which perpetuates a cycle of poverty and exploitation. 
 
However, experts recognize that social protection which includes benefits such as unemployment insurance, health coverage, pensions, school feeding and family support programs can play an important role in breaking this cycle and providing families with the financial stability to avoid relying on their children’s involvement in child labour.
 
The State Controller, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in Ondo state, Mrs. Olanike Mogboruko noted that, “social protection is a fundamental right of every citizen. At this programme, I have learnt that through social protection, child labour can be eliminated from our society, which is our main goal in the Federal Ministry of Labour”.
 
The Accel Africa project seeks to tackle this problem head on by expanding social protection coverage to workers at the lower levels of supply chains, where the risk of child labour is highest. 
 
These supply chains often involve workers in informal or unregulated sectors who face precarious working conditions and lack of access to basic social safety nets. 
 
The project focuses on extending social protection to these vulnerable workers, ensuring that they can earn a living wage and provide for their families without resorting to child labour.