CHILD labour is a problem worldwide, but it particularly affects children in developing countries. Child labour is characterised by full-time work at too early an age, and too many hours spent working.

The work often exerts undue physical, social, or psychological stress, hampers access to education, and may be detrimental to social and psychological development. The ILO’s Statistical Information and Monitoring Programme on Child Labour recently estimated that 211 million children, or 18 per cent of children aged 5-14, are economically active worldwide. 60 per cent of these working children live in Asia, and 23 per cent live in sub-Saharan Africa. Most economically active children are employed in agriculture.

Overall rates of child abuse are higher in regions characterised by a higher proportion of low-income families and in regions with unusually high rates of unemployment.

I request the government to take an immediate note of this and prevent child abuse and labour.

KULSOOM KAZMI Karachi