Global Partnerships, Local Action: Fighting Child Labor in Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa sector
Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa sector sustains millions of livelihoods and supplies almost half of the world’s cocoa. Eliminating child labor is essential to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Ivorian cocoa industry. With international partners, including the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Côte d’Ivoire is taking steps to strengthen child protection systems.
Côte d’Ivoire has put laws in place to prohibit children from engaging in hazardous work. Yet, child labour remains a major challenge in the cocoa sector, where the country is the world’s leading producer. This issue not only affects children’s well-being but also threatens the sustainability of cocoa exports. According to a representative study by NORC at the University of Chicago, around 790,000 children work in cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire, many of them in dangerous conditions. A national survey in 2013 found that 28.2% of children aged 5 to 17 were economically active.
As part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, all UN Member States, including Cote d’Ivoire, have pledged to eliminate every form of child labor.
This commitment is anchored in Target 8.7 of Sustainable Development Goal 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth – which calls for immediate and effective measures to:
- Eradicate forced labor and end modern slavery and human trafficking.
- Prohibit and eliminate the worst forms of child labor, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
A Strong Partnership for a Cocoa Sector Free from Child Labor
The Ivorian government is committed to reducing child labor by ratifying key international conventions and implementing concrete actions on the ground, especially in cocoa-growing regions. Over recent years, efforts have intensified through better coordination among institutions and the creation of specialized protection centres in high-risk areas. Improved access to education and social services and stronger enforcement of child protection laws have additionally been adopted measures.
The EU is engaged with the Ivorian government to support their efforts to end child labor in the cocoa sector through the EU Sustainable Cocoa Program (SCP). It is a joint effort by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to tackle the key issues in the cocoa sector focusing on living income, deforestation and child labor.
The implementing partners are the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the FAO investment center, the European Forest Institute and the Joint Research Center of the European Commission.
For the Sustainable Cocoa Program’s work in Côte d’Ivoire, combating child labor is a key priority. The SCP supports the governments of, Ghana, and Cameroon in their transition to sustainable cocoa production free from deforestation and child labor. It does so by strengthening public systems that monitor and respond to child labor, laying the groundwork for human rights due diligence in cocoa’s private sector.
Implementation in practice in Cavally
Members of regional and local committees learn about the functionalities of the SOSTECI system in training courses.
Since January 2024, the Support Program for the Sustainable Cocoa Initiative (ProSICD) has assisted the National Directorate for the Fight against Child Labour (DLTE), part of the Ivorian Ministry of Employment and Social Protection.
A pilot project in the Cavally region has strengthened the operationalization of the national framework for observing and monitoring child labour, the SOSTECI system. Through this system, the Directorate improves the government’s ability to collect data, coordinate action, and track progress across the cocoa sector. Cavally was chosen as a region for the pilot as it represents the new cocoa belt of Côte d’Ivoire but remains underserved by child-labor initiatives. To make the system fully functional, the program has focused on training local committees at every administrative level — from regional to village structures.
- The first training series focused on the regional level. It brought together about 100 labour inspectors from 13 regional delegations and raised awareness on the classifications of child labor, the framework of the system and taught participants how to operationalize and control the digital survey tool used for the SOSTECI system.
- The second round focused on the communal level. It involved 253 community members from the four departments of Cavally, representing the local teams for sensibilisation of communities on the ground. In the SOSTECI system committees on the communal, and regional level collect and validate data on child labor. After the second round of training participants were able to form committees on the communal level.
The pilot project also strengthened logistics and data collection for the SOSTEI system’s operationalization by providing vehicles and computer equipment.
Field Supervision and Cooperation
A joint mission by the DLTE, GIZ, and the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) visited the four departments of Cavally to assess the committees’ activities and the coordination between them. The mission gathered community recommendations to help improve collaboration and sustainability, some of which have already been implemented: The program created and distributed additional materials to support the local committees in raising awareness around child labor.
In addition, the program worked with ICI to support eight cocoa cooperatives in using data systems to identify, analyse, and address cases of child labour in their production areas. It also trained government and private-sector representatives on the new human rights due diligence requirements.
Looking Ahead
The Ivorian government remains firmly committed to the fight against child labor practices, working to ensure that every child in Côte d’Ivoire can grow up with dignity, opportunity, and hope. The next phase of the EU Sustainable Cocoa Program (SCP) in Côte d’Ivoire will align with the 2025–2029 National Action Plan against Child Labour, prioritizing the continued support for the SOSTECI system and the strengthening data integration between public and private systems.
About the Program
The Sustainable Cocoa Program is a joint initiative of the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented jointly by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH the FAO investment center, the European Forest Institute and the Joint Research Center of the European Commission.