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'A load too heavy': Critical reflections on the child labor problem in Africa's small-scale mining sector

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  • Hilson, Gavin

Abstract

This paper provides an extended analysis of the child labor problem in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, focusing specifically on the situation in sub-Saharan Africa. In recent years, the issue of child labor in ASM has garnered significant attention from the International Labor Organization (ILO), which has been particularly active in raising public awareness of the problem; and, has proceeded to implement policies and collaborative project work aimed at curtailing children's participation in ASM activities in a number of African countries. The analysis concludes with a critical appraisal of an ILO project recently launched in the Talensi-Nabdam District in the Upper East Region of Ghana, which sheds light on how the child labor problem is being tackled in practice in ASM communities in sub-Saharan Africa.

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  • Hilson, Gavin, 2008. "'A load too heavy': Critical reflections on the child labor problem in Africa's small-scale mining sector," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(11), pages 1233-1245, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:30:y:2008:i:11:p:1233-1245
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    1. Banchirigah, Sadia Mohammed, 2008. "Challenges with eradicating illegal mining in Ghana: A perspective from the grassroots," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 29-38, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Verina Ingram & Julius Chupezi Tieguhong & Jolien Schure & Eric Nkamgnia & Maurice Henri Tadjuidje, 2011. "Where artisanal mines and forest meet: Socio‐economic and environmental impacts in the Congo Basin," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(4), pages 304-320, November.
    2. Neil Howard, 2014. "Teenage Labor Migration and Antitrafficking Policy in West Africa," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 653(1), pages 124-140, May.
    3. Sadia Banchirigah & Gavin Hilson, 2010. "De-agrarianization, re-agrarianization and local economic development: Re-orientating livelihoods in African artisanal mining communities," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 43(2), pages 157-180, June.
    4. Cao, Xintong & Sharmina, Maria & Cuéllar-Franca, Rosa M., 2024. "Sourcing cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a responsible net-zero transition: Incentives, risks and stakeholders," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    5. Gatsinzi, Angelique & Hilson, Gavin, 2022. "‘Age is just a number’: Articulating the cultural dimension of child labour in Africa's small-scale mining sector," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Dondeyne, S. & Ndunguru, E. & Rafael, P. & Bannerman, J., 2009. "Artisanal mining in central Mozambique: Policy and environmental issues of concern," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1-2), pages 45-50.
    7. Poignant, Adrian, 2023. "Small-scale mining and agriculture: Evidence from northwestern Tanzania," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    8. Alhassan Abdullah & Inès Huynh & Clifton R. Emery & Lucy P. Jordan, 2022. "Social Norms and Family Child Labor: A Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-21, March.
    9. Schure, Jolien & Ingram, Verina & Tieguhong, Julius Chupezi & Ndikumagenge, Cleto, 2011. "Is the god of diamonds alone? The role of institutions in artisanal mining in forest landscapes, Congo Basin," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 363-371.
    10. Zvarivadza, T., 2018. "Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining as a challenge and possible contributor to Sustainable Development," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 49-58.
    11. Amidu Kalokoh & Lada V. Kochtcheeva, 2022. "Governing the artisanal gold mining sector in the Mano River Union: A comparative study of Liberia and Sierra Leone," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(7), pages 1398-1413, October.

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