US embassy cable - 04LILONGWE696

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LILONGWE 000696 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, EIND, ETRD, PHUM, SOCI, EAID, MI, Labor, Human Rights/Trafficking 
SUBJECT: CHILD LABOR REMAINS AN ISSUE IN MALAWI 
 
REF: STATE 148987 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
1.  One-third of Malawian children aged five to 
seventeen are involved in child labor, according to the 
Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training's recently 
released Malawi Child Labour 2002 Report.  The report, 
funded by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) 
through the International Labour Organization (IOL), 
demonstrates that: 72 percent of children attend school; 
84 percent of children are employed; and of those 
employed, 47 percent are employed under the survey's 
definition of child labor.  Also included in the report 
are Street Children and Child Prostitution studies, 
which focus on the socio-economic factors involved in 
the children's situation.  Without quantifying the 
number of street children or child prostitutes, both 
surveys found that a majority of street kids and 
children in sex trade had lost one or both parents. END 
SUMMARY 
 
Child Population of Malawi 
-------------------------- 
2. The Malawi Child Labor Survey (MCLS) was carried out 
through a representative sample of 8,000 households. 
From these interviews, it was determined that there are 
approximately 3.8 million children in Malawi between the 
ages five and seventeen and that these children account 
for 34 percent of Malawi's total population.  Although 
2.7 million children (72 percent) reported being 
enrolled in school, the survey estimated that 3.2 
million children (84 percent) were working either in 
their homes or outside of their homes in both economic 
and non-economic activities during the twelve months 
preceding the survey. 
 
Child Labor 
----------- 
3. The MCLS defines child labour as: "Working children 
below the age of 14 years who worked for more than seven 
hours in the reference week and working children between 
the ages of five and seventeen, were categorized as 
child labour if they were working in agriculture." 
Using this definition, the survey found that around 1.4 
million children in Malawi are employed in child labor, 
representing 37 percent of the total five to seventeen 
child population. 
 
Children in Economic and Non-Economic Activities 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
4. Out of the 3.2 million working children, the survey 
found 1.5 million to be working in economic activities. 
The MCLS defines economic activity as working for pay, 
either in-cash or in-kind, or engagement in family 
activities without pay, such as farming or hunting.  An 
additional 1.7 million children (53 percent of working 
children) were working in only housekeeping capacities. 
The MCLS defines non-economic activity as activities of 
a domestic nature and also voluntary and charitable 
activities. 
 
Street Kids Survey 
------------------ 
5. The Street Kids Survey was conducted in 2003 and used 
a sample population of 396 street children. Of the 
street children interviewed, 93 percent were male, and 
51 percent had at least one deceased parent.  The survey 
found that around 56 percent of street children's 
mothers were unemployed, but were capable of working. 
Fewer than four percent reported their mothers to be 
employed. 
 
6. The survey also found approximately four percent of 
street children had worked, or been looking for work, in 
the week prior to being surveyed. 
 
Child Prostitutes Survey 
------------------------ 
7. The Children in Commercial Sexual Exploitation Survey 
(CSECS) was conducted in 2003 with a sample of 549 
children involved in sex work.  Of the children 
surveyed, approximately 85 percent were between the ages 
of fifteen and seventeen and approximately 87 percent 
had been in the sex trade for less than two years. 
 
8. 49 percent of the children surveyed had lost both 
parents, and approximately 60 percent had lost a mother. 
Around 24 percent of the children in commercial sex work 
also had a mother who was unemployed, but capable of 
working.  Fewer than nine percent of the children had 
employed mothers. 
 
9. The survey also found that nine percent of children 
in commercial sex work were attending school.  Of the 
children surveyed who were not attending school, 72 
percent had dropped out, while 18 percent had never 
attended school. 
 
Background 
---------- 
10. Child labor in Malawi came to the attention of the 
international community in 2000, when a report on 
Tobacco Tenants in Malawi acknowledged widespread child 
labor practices.  The MCLS was conducted to provide 
quantitative data on children's activities (economic and 
non-economic) to determine the nature, magnitude, and 
reasons for child labor and the subsequent effect of 
such labor on a child's education, health, and moral 
development.  USDOL provided financial support for this 
survey through the ILO. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
11. While there are deficiencies with the statistical 
analysis of this report, it does provide a more 
quantitative look at the issue.  Recognizing the 
continuing problem of child labor in various sectors, 
post welcomes Malawi's inclusion in the Department of 
Labor's International Child Labor Program Education 
Initiative (reftel). 
 
 
RASPOLIC