Growing risk of child labor in the Middle East and North Africa amid cascading crises

Child labor is a global health problem and is associated with a range of adverse health outcomes. Globally, 160 million children between 5 and 17 years are engaged in child labor, of whom 79 million are performing hazardous work that is likely to harm their health, safety or morals, and may result in death, disability, or longstanding physical or psychological damage.

Child labor is intertwined with development: prevalence is inversely proportional to human development indices, and is three times higher in fragile countries than the global average. Prevalence of child labor also varies markedly by geographic region; although the period 2016–2020 saw a decline in the absolute numbers in several regions including Asia, the Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean, other regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa experienced massive increases and globally, the absolute number of children in child labor increased by over 8 million.

The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the landscape with further estimates that worldwide, an additional 8.9 million children were at risk of being forced into labor by the end of 2022 due to rising poverty driven by the pandemic, and modeling suggesting that in the absence of social protection supports, this figure could rise by a staggering 46 million.

Concerningly, comprehensive and up-to-date prevalence data is scarce or patchy for some geographic regions; country-specific monitoring mechanisms on child labor are lacking in some settings, and additionally, there are disparate prevalence estimates from different sources.

There have been considerable global efforts directed toward addressing child labor. Target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seeks to end child labor in all its forms by 2025, but despite recent global awareness-raising events and novel initiatives, the world has failed to meet the target. New approaches are urgently needed if this tragic problem and major social determinant of health is to be effectively addressed.

This Opinion Piece was first published in Frontiers in Public Health on April 1, 2025. Click here to view the article.

Image: Syrian teenager and refugee Mahmoud, 15, hasn’t been to school in 3 years. Now in Lebanon, Mahmoud’s father is unable to find work and now the family can barely afford rent. Mahmoud started working for tips cleaning fish at a small shop next to his home. He now earns USD $60 month which pays for the rent for his family. UNHCR/S. Baldwin