2021 Partnership Meeting: Understanding Child Labor Severity

This session examines the links between child labor and harm and explores the implications for the cocoa sector. First, we look at what the evidence says about the extent to which child labor can harm children’s health, development, education, future opportunities and earnings, based on a literature review. To put these findings in context, we then hear perspectives and reactions from communities, cocoa and chocolate companies, and a government representative. A better understanding of the links between child labor and harm should inform future efforts to prevent and address child labor by helping us answer the following questions: Which children are at greatest risk of harm from child labor? Under what circumstances? How can we better target assistance to them? And how should we be measuring the success of interventions to prevent and reduce child labor?