According to Gabriel Mbilingue, advisor to the Secretary of State for Labor, on line 15015 SOS-Criança, the authorities registered, in 2023, a total of 1894 reports of child labor exploitation.
Just over half of the cases had female children as victims (958) and 936 reported male children.
The allegations occurred in all provinces of the country, "but the biggest source of origin is the province of Bié at the top of the list, followed by the province of Lunda Sul and then Luanda and Zaire", highlighted the person responsible, without providing data for 2024.
The senior technician from the Ministry of Public Administration, Labor and Social Security (MAPTSS) said that the current framework for child labor in the country is supported by a legislative package that has its maximum expression in the National Action Plan for the Eradication of Child Labor (PANETI).
PANETI, approved in 2021 and which has a multisectoral team coordinated by MAPTSS, has as its main objective the implementation of measures that promote the practical application of children's rights as a way of preventing and eradicating child labor in its worst forms.
"The implementation of these measures has been carried out since the approval of the plan by a multisectoral commission coordinated by MAPTSS", said Gabriel Mbilingue.
For the second half of 2024, PANETI plans to carry out actions within the scope of eradicating child labor in the country's 18 provinces, namely in the training of civil society, including the media, aiming to stop child exploitation.
The implementation of a PANETI window, actions to publicize the list of prohibited works restricted to minors, updated in 2022 via a presidential decree, are also among the activities planned for 2024.
According to Gabriel Mbilingue, the plan to eradicate child labor also includes a set of campaigns and competitions, integrated by the "PANETI Songs Project", which aims to integrate the revitalization of children's songs with a new concept.
In addition to recording the greatest hits from the Angolan children's songbook, the project, explained the person responsible, also intends to produce new songs about the eradication of child labor.
Hundreds of children in the country continue to work to support themselves and even support their families.
In the country's streets, avenues, neighborhoods, villages and markets, children can be seen carrying out various activities, such as selling products or agricultural or other precarious jobs, such as taxi drivers, shoe polishers, car washers.
