GEA, ILO launch framework to tackle child labour risks in cocoa, mining communities

The Ghana Employers’ Association (GEA), in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), has developed a new coordination framework to strengthen the identification, referral and follow-up of child labour cases in four districts.

The Bipartite Community Coordination (BCC) Framework was validated at a two-day workshop held in Bibiani from August 26 to 27, under the ILO’s ACCEL Africa Project.

In a news release issued on Wednesday, September 9, the organisers noted that the framework is expected to improve coordination among community and district-level institutions dealing with child protection in Bia East, Juaboso, Wassa Amenfi East and Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai.

The workshop brought together 45 stakeholders, including members of Community Child Protection Committees, district institutions, employers and workers.

The engagement focused on strengthening existing child-protection structures rather than creating a parallel system.

Participants examined how child labour concerns identified in communities can be properly documented, referred to the appropriate institutions and followed up until they are resolved.

A key outcome was the validation of the BCC Framework and an accompanying 12-month coordination roadmap.

Under the roadmap, the four districts will establish a database of Community Child Protection Committees and their focal persons, supported by a shared contact directory to improve communication and referrals.

A WhatsApp-based coordination platform will also connect community and district focal persons to facilitate information sharing and draw attention to unresolved referrals.

The roadmap further provides for monthly focal-person check-ins and quarterly clustered support visits to review emerging concerns and strengthen support to communities.

The framework also introduces simplified tools, including concern notes, referral forms, acknowledgement and feedback slips, follow-up registers and cross-community handover notes.

Refresher training will be provided to strengthen the ability of Community Child Protection Committee members to identify, document, refer and follow up child labour concerns.

Progress under the framework will be assessed during its 12-month implementation period, including through an end-of-year capability scorecard.

The initiative forms part of a wider GEA-ILO collaboration that has been running since July 2025 to accelerate efforts to eliminate child labour in cocoa and artisanal and small-scale gold-mining supply chains in the four districts.

A needs assessment involving 159 enterprises previously identified gaps in institutional capacity, responsible business practices and compliance with child labour standards.

The findings informed a tailored training programme that resulted in about 30 trainers from the cocoa, artisanal mining and government sectors being certified to support awareness creation and capacity building.

The GEA has also developed an Enterprise Compliance Maturity Model for Responsible Business Conduct to help enterprises in the cocoa and artisanal mining sectors identify compliance gaps and improve their practices.

While the Enterprise Compliance Maturity Model focuses on strengthening responsible practices within businesses and supply chains, the BCC Framework seeks to improve coordination among institutions responsible for protecting children in communities.