Towards revitalizing WIND activities to strengthen the fight against child labor

Yamoussoukro, April 3-5, 2024 – The ILO’s ACCEL Africa II and ENACTE projects brought together approximately twenty participants from the Ministry of Employment and Social Protection (MEPS), the National Rural Development Support Agency (ANADER), the Coffee and Cocoa Council, the General Confederation of Enterprises of Côte d’Ivoire (CGECI), cooperatives and communities to discuss the results in implementing the WIND approach to combating child labor in the cocoa value chain in Côte d’Ivoire.

WIND is a methodology developed by the International Labor Office that helps improve working and living conditions in rural areas by applying the principles of occupational safety and health (OSH). The workshop reviewed interventions implemented between 2021 and 2023 as part of the WIND approach’s commitment to combating child labor and improving working conditions in cocoa-producing communities in Côte d’Ivoire.

A total of 135 community actors benefited from capacity building based on the instruments of the WIND approach during the period 2021 to 2023. The different actors involved in the implementation of the instrument confirmed that the deployment of WIND has contributed, through the approach that focuses primarily on improving the working and living conditions of the communities, overcoming the resistance that accompanies child labor initiatives in general. In addition, achievements such as improved stoves and the cocoa pod crusher have positively and significantly changed working conditions (less strenuous) and living conditions (less health risks), with a reduced risk of child labor.

Sharing experiences also helped identify the key issues faced by actors that limited WIND deployment. These mainly include the short duration of implementation and monitoring of activities and the low level of ownership and involvement of some peer trainers, despite the support provided through income generating activities (IGA).

Several lessons learned will inform the resumption of WIND interventions in Côte d’Ivoire. Concrete opportunities for improvement were also identified, including the introduction of a general module on occupational safety and health and child labor during training, the involvement of cooperatives and companies in supply chains in implementing interventions, the implementation of standardization and dissemination activities of selected champion innovations (cocoa innovations). pod crusher and improved stove, etc.)

At the end of the workshop, a WIND action plan (May 2024 to May 2025) was developed. Follow-up meetings will be organized with key actors (ANADER, CCC and MEPS) to finalize and validate this action plan and begin the effective implementation of the WIND revitalization interventions. The workshop concluded with the presentation of certificates to trainers and peer trainers trained between 2021 and 2023.