KABUL, Afghanistan: The International Labor Organization (ILO) reports that nearly 1.1 million children in Afghanistan are engaged in hard labor, with the majority aged between 5 and 17.
At a Kabul gathering for World Day Against Child Labor, ILO officials emphasized the urgent need to end child labor in the country. Ramin Behzad, the ILO Senior Coordinator for Afghanistan, noted that 9 percent of children in this age group are affected.
The ILO attributes this to factors such as economic poverty, conflict, crises, and the COVID-19 pandemic, with Afghan children being particularly hard hit.
Since the last comprehensive survey in 2020, the ILO has not conducted a new assessment, but officials believe the number of children in labor may have increased.
Save the Children also highlighted the severe hunger crisis in Afghanistan, predicting that about 6.5 million children, or nearly 30% of the child population, will face crisis or emergency levels of hunger this year. This situation is exacerbated by natural disasters like floods, prolonged drought, and the return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) forecasts that 28% of Afghanistan’s population, or 12.4 million people, will experience acute food insecurity before October, with nearly 2.4 million facing emergency levels of hunger. Despite a slight improvement from last October’s report, the need for assistance remains critical, as poverty affects half the population. An estimated 2.9 million children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2024.
Save the Children has already treated over 7,000 malnourished children in Afghanistan this year. The ongoing drought and lack of agricultural opportunities have forced families into severe financial hardship. A doctor from Save the Children in Northern Afghanistan highlighted that these conditions prevent children from attending school and lead to malnutrition and illness, further depriving them of their rights and exacerbating their hardships.
