Nursery World - Childhood lost

Children make up a vital part of the workforce in the developing world, without resources for education or play. Mahrukh Choughtai reports School days are said to be the best days of our lives, but sadly this is not the case for the 246 million children between the ages of five and 17 who are forced to work to stay alive. Figures published in a report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) show that one in six children are working, often in jobs that endanger their health and well-being.

School days are said to be the best days of our lives, but sadly this is not the case for the 246 million children between the ages of five and 17 who are forced to work to stay alive. Figures published in a report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) show that one in six children are working, often in jobs that endanger their health and well-being.

'While there has been significant progress towards the effective abolition of child labour, the international community still faces a major uphill struggle against this stubbornly pervasive form of work that takes a tragic toll on millions of children around the world,' says the director-general of the ILO, Juan Somavia.

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