Côte d’Ivoire has made significant progress in the fight against child labour and remains committed to eradicating this issue, stated Adama Kamara, Minister of Employment and Social Protection, on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, in Abidjan-Cocody II-Plateau.

The announcement was made during the celebration of the 24th edition of the World Day Against Child Labour, held under the theme:
"Progress is visible, but much remains to be done: let’s accelerate our efforts!"
The ceremony was presided over by First Lady Dominique Ouattara, who also serves as President of the National Monitoring Committee for Actions Against Trafficking, Exploitation, and Child Labour (CNS).

“In order to build on the achievements of previous initiatives and address current challenges, our country has developed a fourth National Action Plan to combat trafficking, exploitation, and child labour (2025–2029),” announced Minister Kamara.
He added that the new framework, with a total budget of 165.643 billion FCFA, was officially launched at the same venue on June 4, 2025, by Her Excellency the First Lady, Dominique Ouattara, in her capacity as CNS President.

The Minister emphasized the need to redouble efforts toward the elimination of child labour and reaffirmed Côte d’Ivoire’s strong and ongoing commitment to this cause.

On the international front, he recalled that Côte d’Ivoire ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour on February 7, 2003.

“To support the implementation of international conventions, Côte d’Ivoire is fully engaged in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From these SDGs stems the Alliance 8.7, a global partnership of countries committed to ending forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking, and child labour, in line with Target 8.7. Since 2023, Côte d’Ivoire has served as Vice-Chair of Alliance 8.7, alongside Chile,” he said.

Quoting recent data, the Minister noted that according to the 2024 Global Estimates on Child Labour by the ILO and UNICEF, the number of children engaged in child labour dropped by 22 million between 2020 and 2024. However, he expressed concern that child labour remains prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly two-thirds of child labour victims — around 87 million children — are concentrated.

For this year’s edition, Côte d’Ivoire adopted the national theme:
"Sustainability in cash crop supply chains: Let’s eliminate child labour!"