Vast problem whose effects on children's health remain largely unstudied

Child labour today represents the largest single cause of child abuse across the globe. Most of it takes place in economically less developed countries, and much is hidden. In a minority of instances the effects of child labour may be neutral or even positive, such as helping out in a family run shop during school holidays. In recent years therefore the emphasis has shifted from the abolition of all forms of child labour to the elimination of intolerable and hazardous child labour. The International Labour Organisation estimates that worldwide 110 million children aged 5-14 years are engaged in labour that can be described as hazardous or intolerable.1 Most of this takes place in Asia and the Pacific, although the highest prevalence is in Africa, where children younger than 14 years make up a third of the total workforce.1

Slavery, bonded labour, prostitution, and the recruitment of child soldiers are all intolerable and illegal. Yet in central and west Africa alone an estimated 200 000 children are traded each year.2 Landlords can bond a child worker for as little as US$1.50 (£0.95, €1.50), and family debts are manipulated so that there is no hope of repayment. The commercial sexual exploitation of children is increasing, and organised networks can be found in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and, most recently, eastern Europe. An estimated 1 million children in Asia alone are victims of the sex trade, much of it focused around sex tourism.3 Paradoxically, …