By Esther Mundia and Hussein Kadiro
Introduction
Child labour refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous and harmful to children, and interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school, obliging them to leave school prematurely, or requiring them to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work. The Constitution (2010) safeguards children from harmful labour practices. However, child labour is prevalent, with 8.5 per cent of children aged 5 to 17 years involved in child labour (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics – KNBS, 2019). Child labour is especially severe in arid areas, with rates reaching as high as 30 per cent in the arid regions. In these regions, children are often involved in livestock rearing, herding, and other agricultural activities due to the pastoralist nature of the communities.
The country has made significant progress, reducing child labour from 34.4 per cent in 2009 to 8.5 per cent in 2019. Reforms in laws and programmes, such as free primary education (introduced in 2003) and the 100 per cent transition policy to secondary education, have been instrumental but gaps still exist, particularly in the arid regions. Without stronger intervention, millions of children may still be forced into child labour, perpetuating cycles of poverty and limiting future economic growth. This blog addresses the issue of child labour in arid areas.
Status of Child Labour in Arid Areas
Child labour in arid areas
In arid areas, child labour is widespread in livestock keeping. Children, often between the ages of 5 and 17, perform tasks such as herding, animal care, slaughter, and animal husbandry. These activities often expose them to isolation, dangerous environments, and health risks.
A 2019 census by the KNBS indicates a correlation between high child labour incidences and low working-age adult populations. For instance, in Mandera County, 47 per cent of children are engaged in labour, compared to 25 per cent of unemployed adults. In Marsabit County, 35 per cent of children work, against 25 per cent of unemployed adults. Reducing child labour implies more productive job opportunities at adulthood.
The persistence of child labour in arid regions is driven by factors such as weak law enforcement, poverty, unemployment, and cultural practices. These challenges are exacerbated by inadequate funding for child interventions and unreliable data. Child labour deprives children of their right to education, safety, and development, contributing to an unskilled future workforce and limiting socio-economic progress.
Policy and legal framework
The Constitution (2010) guarantees fair labour rights, including the right to reasonable working conditions and freedom from forced labour. The Employment Act (Cap 226) sets the minimum age for work at 16 years (18 for hazardous work), while the Children’s Act (Cap 141) prohibits child labour, providing penalties for violators. Additionally, the National Policy on the Elimination of Child Labour outlines strategies to address the worst forms of child labour, while the National Plan of Action for the Protection of Children (2015-2022) aims to safeguard children’s rights.
Inconsistencies in the legal framework hinder enforcement. For example, while the Basic Education Act mandates compulsory education until age 18, the Employment Act allows children to work from age 16, creating ambiguity in the application of the law. Delays in justice for child labour victims further discourage reporting, and limited labour inspectors are unable to adequately monitor child labour, particularly in informal sectors.
The informal sector, where most children work, is poorly regulated, lacking decent conditions, bargaining rights, and labour oversight. Poverty, a key driver of child labour, forces many children to work to supplement family incomes, perpetuating cycles of poverty. Furthermore, weak coordination among child protection agencies, such as the children’s department, educational institutions, and government agricultural officers, hampers efforts to address child labour. Gaps in civil registration and insufficient child labour data also hinder targeted interventions.
Opportunities to reduce child labour
Expanding access to quality education is critical for reducing child labour. Enforcing the constitutional right to free, compulsory basic education and improving school infrastructure in arid regions would encourage more families to keep their children in school. Implementing school feeding programmes and mobile schools for isolated communities would further improve school attendance. Additionally, scholarships that cover tuition, uniforms, and other school expenses would help alleviate the financial burden on families.
Leveraging technology offers opportunities for addressing child labour. Mobile applications could enable real-time reporting of child labour cases and provide authorities with up-to-date data to respond promptly. Blockchain technology could be used to track livestock products in supply chains, improving transparency and compliance with child labour laws.
Recommendations
- Improve law enforcement: The Government to strengthen the enforcement of existing child labour laws and schooling to protect every child from exploitative labour. Regular labour inspections, particularly in informal sectors, must be enhanced. Policies should promote decent work opportunities for legal workingage youth to reduce demand for child labour.
- Poverty alleviation programmes: Child labour is closely linked to poverty. Empowering communities with economic programmes that focus on incomegenerating activities that allow children to stay in school and develop holistically.
- Supply chain monitoring: The Government to require thorough due diligence in the supply chains. Use of technologies such as blockchain could provide end-toend visibility, helping businesses identify and mitigate child labour risks.
- Child labour monitoring systems: Establish national and community-level child labour monitoring systems and train communities to identify cases of child labour and encourage children to report peers engaged in child labour. Teachers to flag unexplained absences from school as a potential sign of child labour. Conduct public awareness campaigns in local languages to highlight the harmful effects of child labour and offer viable alternatives.
- Collaborative efforts: Enhance coordination among stakeholders, including the children department, educational institutions, private sector, NGOs, and faithbased organizations, to support the government’s efforts to eliminate child labour, particularly in the livestock industry. Allocate resources to strengthen collaborative and awareness programs, these ensuring producers, employers, and labourers promote the best practices and abide by labour regulations.
