The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has signed an agreement with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to collaborate on Campaigns aimed at eliminating child labour in Nigeria.
The Director General of NOA, Garba Abari and the Country Director of the ILO in Nigeria, Vanessa Lerato Phala who signed the agreement in Abuja, explained that the partnership covers the implementation of the National Social Behavioural and Communication Change strategy under the Accelerating Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in supply chains in Africa (ACCEL Africa), a project funded by the Dutch government.
In a statement signed by the AGENCY’S assistant director in charge of press, PAUL ODENYI, the ACCEL Africa project in Nigeria aims to eliminate child labour in the Artisanal Gold Mining and Cocoa Farming sectors in the country.
The director General of NOA, while signing the document, committed the Agency to implement a grassroots programme that would help raise awareness among all interest groups and modify behaviour within the focal communities of the project.
Abari further noted that the Agency will deploy its grassroots structure, which includes a presence in 36 states and the 774 local council areas in Nigeria, to enlighten citizens on the dangers of child labour generally and its impact on communities, the economy and the child, especially through the implementation of the NSBCCS.
In the agreement, the ILO will
Support the institutional capacity of NOA’s Community Orientation and Mobilisation Officers (COMOs) and other relevant officers to implement programmes aimed at creating awareness among communities while
NOA is to implement National Behavioural and communication strategy in the local communities as part of their culture and orientation process.
NOA will on its part, mainstream public awareness programmes on child labour as part of the general public enlightenment schedule of the Agency; and implement specific programmes jointly designed by both the NOA and Accel Africa that would lead to the reduction of child labour issues in Nigeria.
Editor : Ena Agbanoma
