$10 Million Grant Combats Child Labor in Cocoa Farming

WASHINGTONSecretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis on Sept. 13 announced a landmark $10 million grant to fund a new Framework of Action to eliminate forms of child labor in the chocolate and cocoa industry in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, the two countries that supply more than half of the world's cocoa. The initiative places an emphasis on actions that foster safe, healthy, and productive environments for children and families through addressing hazardous labor practices, improving the livelihoods of farming families and providing access to quality education for children.

The Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire governments committed resources, personnel and policy support for the initiative, which emphasizes joint planning and coordination of efforts on the ground to achieve maximum impact. The international chocolate and cocoa industry pledged $7 million to the new Framework of Action, and Solis encouraged industry representatives to redouble efforts to match the full $10 million in new funding that is being provided by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The department will work through the International Labor Organization's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor to help the countries build community-based monitoring systems to uncover the worst forms of child labor, determine the causes and provide remedies. After the announcement, the group met to refine strategies and plans to implement the new framework.

Since 1995, Congress has appropriated approximately $780 million to the U.S. Department of Labor to support efforts to combat exploitive child labor around the world, resulting in the rescue of approximately 1.4 million children from the worst forms of child labor. The Harkin-Engel Protocol represents a commitment by the industry to grow and process cocoa beans and derivative products in compliance with International Labor Organization Convention 182.

"Child labor perpetuates a cycle of poverty that prevents families and nations from reaching their full potential," Solis said. "This new Framework of Action will focus on tackling household poverty so parents do not have to rely on their children's labor."

Improving the lives of children and adults in Cote dIvoire and Ghana is a matter of shared responsibility for all those involved, and our industry is fully committed to helping even more cocoa farming families through this innovative partnership," said Larry Graham, president of the National Confectioners Association, on behalf of the global chocolate and cocoa industry.