Ghana is commemorating this year’s World Day Against Child Labour with series of awareness creation events in cocoa growing communities in Sefwi Yiaso in the Western Region. The day, June 12, was instituted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2002 to focus attention on the global extent of child labour and the action and efforts needed to eliminate it. The theme for this year is “Children in Hazardous Work”, and provides a global spotlight on hazardous child labour, with a call for urgent action to tackle the problem. According to the National Programme on the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa (NPECLC), interventions to eliminate worst forms of child labour in cocoa has placed players in Ghana’s cocoa industry on better footing to trade in the commodity. Few years ago, Ghana was nearly blacklisted as a result of strong agitation by the international media that the country’s cocoa industry strived on exploitation of children on cocoa farms. Samuel Atukwei Quaye, Coordinator of Ghana Child Labour Monitoring System, says government and other civil society organizations have been able to articulate Ghana’s commitment to protect the interest of children in cocoa production. He tells Luv News remediation activities under the NPECLC have ensured children are not involved in hazardous work, and their health and education are not impeded by their engagements on cocoa farms. “We are not encouraging farmers to use their children in slave-like conditions to produce cocoa. That is not to say that children cannot help or do house chores; they can but there are certain work that they cannot do – carrying heavy load and walking long distances is not good for these children,” he said. Mr. Quaye noted that an additional livelihood support programme is targeting women especially to provide alternative income sources for families during the lean cocoa season. Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh/Luv Fm/Ghana