Journal Articles

Child Labour in African Artisanal Mining Communities: Experiences from Northern Ghana

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The issue of child labour in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) economy is attracting significant attention worldwide. This article critically examines this 'problem' in the context of sub-Saharan Africa, where a lack of formal sector employment opportunities and/or the need to provide financial support to their impoverished families has led tens of thousands of children to take up work in this industry. The article begins by engaging with the main debates on child labour in an attempt to explain why young boys and girls elect to pursue arduous work in ASM camps across the region. The remainder of the article uses the Ghana experience to further articulate the challenges associated with eradicating child labour at ASM camps, drawing upon recent fieldwork undertaken in Talensi-Nabdam District, Upper East Region. Overall, the issue of child labour in African ASM communities has been diagnosed far too superficially, and until donor agencies and host governments fully come to grips with the underlying causes of the poverty responsible for its existence, it will continue to burgeon.

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Detail Information

Series Title

Development and Change

Call Number

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Publisher

Hoboken, United States : Wiley-Blackwell., 2010

Collation

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Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

0012155x

Classification

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Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Volume 41 Issue 3, May 2010. Pages 445 - 473

Subject(s)

Northern Ghana
Child Labour in African
Child Labour
Northern Ghana-Africa

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

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