Plan to rehabilitate 0.76m children

FE Report The government has chalked out a plan to rehabilitate 0.76 million children including 'working' and 'at risk to be a child laborer' and their families through various intervention in the next five years. "The National Plan of Action (NPA) will benefit around 0.76 million children who are working children or at risk to be a child laborer and their families through different interventions," said Professor Golam Samdani Fakir, team leader of consulting team on Implementation of the National Policy on the Elimination of Child Labor 2012-2016. A total of US$ 92 million has been proposed in the budget prepared for implementing the NPA on child labor elimination excluding the activities of various ministries which are directly incorporated in the annual development programmes. He was addressing the inaugural session of the Final National Consultation Workshop on Formulation of National Plan of Action for Implementation of the National Child Labor Elimination Policy 2010 at a city hotel Monday organized by labor ministry. Labor ministry, the main implementing agency of the NPA, in collaboration with International Labor Organisation (ILO), UNICEF and Save the Children Fund approved the National Child Labor Elimination Policy in 2010. Earlier the government held similar workshops - one national and two divisional - to seek views and opinions of various stakeholders who will be involved in the implementation process. The first workshop was held in July this year. After the final workshop the draft NPA will be sent to the cabinet division for approval. Mr Samdani, also pro vice-chancellor of BRAC University made a brief presentation on the final draft of the NPA. The university has been working as the consulting body for the joint child labor working group and inter-agency working group on the implementation of the child labor elimination policy project. The NPA has identified nine strategic areas where the budget will be spent - policy implementation and institutional development, education, health and nutrition, social awareness and motivation, legislation and enforcement, employment and labor market, prevention of child labor and safety of children engaged in labor, social and family integration and research and training. There are 65 activities in the NPA, 18 of which will directly benefit children who are engaged in labor, costing Tk 7843 per child over the projected period of five years. The remaining 47 activities will create a base in the society against child labor which will be crucial for future plans to eliminate the same. Mr Samdani said the NPA will also create awareness in the society (parents, employers, children, religious and political leaders) and strengthen capacity of the institutions (both government and non-government) who are working in this sector. The consulting team also advised the government to establish a National Child Labor Welfare Council (NCLWC) headed by the prime minister as the apex body. It will focus on convergence and coordination among different government agencies, NGOs, employers and workers associations, and experts involved in implementing programmes and projects for eliminating child labor.