It has been witnessed that in poor countries the effects of poverty and unemployment are dramatic. The child’s very right to survival may be threatened by the parents’ unemployment. In addition to suffering severe economic hardships, families are disintegrating. Increased child labour, rising drop-out rates and even juvenile delinquency is the outcome. These issues are not fully captured in the poverty alleviation strategies.

The education sector has a great potential to contribute to the prevention and elimination of child labour, which should be an integral part of education policies worldwide. In addition to preventing child labour, the education sector can provide special measures to reintegrate children withdrawn from hazardous work into school. Still, policies that focus exclusively on the education system without accounting for the economic environment of households and the general state of the labour market will not be sufficient to reduce child labour and achieve education for all over the long run.

This underscores the importance of addressing the root causes of child labour and the poor quality and access to education within a broader framework of poverty alleviation strategy.

An anti-poverty, child-friendly strategy must pay greater attention to converge with other policies on education and the elimination of child labour. Education For All and the elimination of child labour should find a prominent focus in poverty alleviation programmes.

A multi-dimensional approach consisting of awareness building and consciousness raising, community participation, alternative and viable social economic rehabilitation, and enforcement of national and international legal instruments in relation to children and other similar plans, is needed for linking the elimination of child labour with the overall poverty alleviation and education strategies. There needs a synergy in policy planning and programmes that address these three vital issues, that affect the lives of millions of children, for a sustainable development.

The focus will also be to promote a better cooperation and understanding between policy planners, children and advocacy groups working on children’s behalf.