Breaking the cycle: long-term socio economic determinants of child labour in SAARC countries – BMC Public Health

Analysis of Child Labour in SAARC Nations: A Report on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Health, Well-being, and Child Labour: A Barrier to SDG 3

The prevalence of child labour in SAARC countries presents a significant obstacle to achieving SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being). Children engaged in hazardous work face severe physical and psychological health risks, directly contravening the goal of ensuring healthy lives for all.

• Physical Health Impacts: Empirical evidence consistently demonstrates a high incidence of respiratory illnesses, musculoskeletal disorders, malnutrition, and injuries among child labourers.
  • In Pakistan, children in leather and surgical industries suffer from chronic health issues due to exposure to toxic chemicals.
  • In Bangladesh and India, those in construction and agriculture face high risks of accidents and long-term impairments.
  • In Nepal, workplace injuries are widespread, while in Sri Lanka, nearly 28% of working children report occupation-related health conditions.
• Psychological Health Impacts: The long-term mental health consequences are significant but under-researched. Children in Afghanistan, particularly refugees, suffer from chronic fatigue and psychological distress.
• Gender Disparities: Girls are disproportionately affected, facing unique reproductive health risks and exploitation, which undermines progress toward SDG 5 (Gender Equality).
• Policy and Intervention Gaps: While some countries have implemented health programmes (Bangladesh) and family support schemes (Sri Lanka), enforcement of safety regulations remains weak, especially in conflict-affected regions like Afghanistan and Pakistan. A lack of cross-country comparative research hinders the evaluation of effective health interventions.

Education and Child Labour: Undermining SDG 4 and SDG 8.7

Access to quality education is a primary mechanism for eradicating child labour, directly aligning with SDG 4 (Quality Education) and Target 8.7 (end child labour). However, its effectiveness is inconsistent across the SAARC region due to persistent socio-economic barriers.

• Barriers to Education:
  • In Pakistan and India, financial hardship, inadequate school infrastructure, and caste-based inequalities lead to high dropout rates, pushing children into the workforce.
  • In Afghanistan, conflict and economic collapse have deprived millions of children of formal schooling, exacerbating cognitive and socio-emotional deprivation.
• Educational Interventions and Mixed Outcomes:
  • Bangladesh has seen success in reducing child labour through school stipends and meal programmes, though unintended consequences like rising dropout rates have been observed.
  • In Nepal, community-based interventions have promoted schooling, but rural households often remain dependent on child income.
  • Sri Lanka’s vocational training initiatives have helped prevent dropouts, but their direct impact on child labour lacks empirical assessment.
• Need for Integrated Approaches: The findings indicate that achieving SDG 4 requires more than just improving school access. Integrated strategies must address structural constraints like poverty (SDG 1), gender inequality (SDG 5), and poor regulatory enforcement.

Economic Determinants and the Pursuit of SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)

Several economic factors influence the prevalence of child labour, complicating the region’s progress toward SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). An integrated analysis of these determinants is crucial for developing effective policies.

1. Economic Growth and its Uneven Impact

   The relationship between economic growth and child labour is non-linear. While growth can reduce poverty, it does not automatically eliminate child labour, highlighting the need for inclusive and sustainable growth as envisioned in SDG 8.

   • In India, sustained growth has not eradicated child labour in hazardous industries due to weak enforcement.
   • In Pakistan, growth has improved adult wages in some sectors but has not benefited those in the informal economy, where child labour persists.
   • In Afghanistan, the benefits of growth are inaccessible to vulnerable households, forcing children into hazardous work for survival.

2. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Labour Standards

   FDI’s impact is context-dependent. While it can raise adult wages and reduce the need for child labour, it can also exacerbate the problem in weakly regulated sectors, challenging the principles of decent work.

   • FDI in manufacturing tends to reduce child labour, whereas investment in informal agriculture may increase it.
   • In Pakistan, globalisation has had mixed results, with some industries improving labour standards while others continue to rely on child workers due to limited institutional capacity.
   • Wage inequality often increases with FDI, leaving low-skilled households vulnerable and dependent on child income.

3. Urbanisation and its Dual Role in Achieving SDG 11

   Urbanisation, a key component of SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), presents both opportunities and risks.

   • Opportunities: Migration to urban centres in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh can improve access to education and healthcare, thereby reducing child labour.
   • Risks: Rapid, unregulated urbanisation creates exploitative informal labour markets. In Pakistan and India, migrant and refugee children are often pushed into hazardous urban jobs with limited state protection.

4. Adult Unemployment as a Driver of Child Labour

   High adult unemployment is a primary driver of child labour, directly undermining Target 8.5 (full and productive employment for all). When adults cannot find decent work, households are forced to rely on children’s earnings.

   • This trend is consistent across India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, where unemployment, poverty, and weak governance create a cycle of economic hardship and educational exclusion.
   • The COVID-19 pandemic worsened urban unemployment in India, pushing more children into informal jobs.
   • Policy interventions like improved adult education and social protection can mitigate this effect, but such initiatives remain fragmented in the SAARC region.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 1: No Poverty – The article repeatedly identifies poverty, financial hardship, and low household incomes as primary drivers of child labour in SAARC countries. It states that families rely on children’s earnings for survival, directly linking the issue to the goal of eradicating poverty.
• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – The “Health and child labour” section extensively details the severe physical and psychological health risks faced by child labourers, such as respiratory illnesses, injuries, malnutrition, and psychological distress, connecting directly to the goal of ensuring healthy lives.
• SDG 4: Quality Education – The article emphasizes that education is a key mechanism for reducing child labour. It discusses how barriers like high dropout rates, insufficient school infrastructure, and lack of access to formal schooling push children into the workforce, linking the problem to the goal of inclusive and equitable quality education.
• SDG 5: Gender Equality – The text points out gender disparities, noting that “girls are disproportionately exposed to reproductive health risks and exploitation.” This highlights a connection to the goal of achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – This is a central theme. The article’s focus is on child labour, particularly its hazardous forms, which directly relates to the goal of eradicating child labour. It also discusses the impact of economic growth, unemployment, and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on labour markets and the persistence of child labour.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – The article mentions that factors like “caste-based inequalities” in India and the vulnerability of “marginalised rural communities” and “refugee populations” exacerbate the problem of child labour, connecting the issue to the goal of reducing inequality within and among countries.
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – The section on “Urbanisation and child labour” discusses how rapid and unregulated urbanisation can expose migrant and refugee children to exploitative work in informal urban sectors, linking the issue to the goal of making cities inclusive and safe.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 1.2: By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions. The article consistently links child labour to “poverty,” “financial hardship,” and the need for children to “support family survival,” indicating that reducing poverty is essential to tackling child labour.
2. Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. The article mentions initiatives like “Bangladesh’s community health programmes and Sri Lanka’s family support schemes” that have “enhanced healthcare access for child labour,” directly relating to this target.
3. Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes. The article discusses how “high dropout rates” and children being “without formal schooling” are major problems, and how interventions like “school stipends” and “free meal programmes” are used to keep children in school and out of labour.
4. Target 5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere. This is relevant as the article explicitly states that “gender disparities further worsen vulnerabilities, as girls are disproportionately exposed to reproductive health risks and exploitation.”
5. Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value. The article highlights that high “adult unemployment” is a consistent driver of child labour, as families depend on children’s earnings when adult jobs are scarce.
6. Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms. This is the most directly relevant target, as the entire article is about the prevalence, causes, and consequences of child labour, including its hazardous forms in industries like leather, construction, and manufacturing.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• For Target 8.7: The article implies the use of Indicator 8.7.1 (Proportion and number of children aged 5–17 years engaged in child labour, by sex and age). While it doesn’t provide specific statistics, it describes the prevalence of child labour across various sectors (leather, surgical instruments, construction, manufacturing, agriculture) in different SAARC countries. The existence and nature of this work serve as a qualitative indicator.
• For Target 3.8: The article implies indicators related to health outcomes and access to care. The prevalence of specific health conditions among child labourers, such as “respiratory illnesses, musculoskeletal disorders, malnutrition, frequent injuries, chronic fatigue, and psychological distress,” can be measured. The article also mentions that “nearly 28% of working children in Sri Lanka report occupation-related health conditions,” which is a direct quantitative indicator of health impact. Access to healthcare is indicated by the mention of “community health programmes” and “family support schemes.”
• For Target 4.1: The article implies indicators like school dropout rates and school enrollment rates. It explicitly mentions “high dropout rates” in Pakistan and how conflict in Afghanistan has left “millions of children without formal schooling.” Conversely, it notes that interventions in Bangladesh have improved “educational incentives,” suggesting that tracking enrollment and attendance is a key measure of progress.
• For Target 8.5: The article directly points to the adult unemployment rate as a key metric. It states, “when adult unemployment rises, households are more likely to rely on child labour to compensate for income losses,” making the unemployment rate a direct indicator of the economic pressure leading to child labour.
• For Target 1.2: The article implies using the proportion of the population living in poverty as an indicator. It consistently refers to “poverty” and “financial hardship” as the root causes of child labour, meaning that tracking poverty levels is essential to measuring progress in eliminating one of its main drivers.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com