Peer-reviewed article
Health Outcomes of Child Labour in Ghana
Benedicta Leonora Akrono ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined the relationship between child labour and health outcomes for Ghanaian children aged 5-17 years using data from 14,062 children. The research found that increased hours spent in child labour significantly worsens children's health, leading to higher rates of injury and illness. The study also identified other important factors affecting child health including household wealth, parental education, access to clean water and sanitation facilities, and the child's relationship to the household head. The findings suggest that reducing child labour hours and improving living conditions are important for protecting children's health.
Key points
- Increases in child labour hours significantly have adverse health outcomes for children
- Household head education, household wealth quintiles, local area conditions, and access to pipe water and flushing toilet facilities are important variables affecting child injury and illness
- Child's relationship to household head affects health outcomes
- The study analysed 14,062 children from 16,772 households across Ghana
- District assemblies should sensitise the public on the hazardous health effects of child labour
Limitations
The study is observational and cannot establish causation definitively, only associations. The document does not provide details on specific types of child labour examined, severity of health outcomes measured, or the magnitude of health effects reported.
Abstract
The study examined the effect of child labour and health outcomes on children between 5-17 years. The Ghana Living Standard Survey of round six of the child labour data was adopted, which involved 14,062 children from 16772 households. The study considered household, child, and community variables for which the probit regression model was the estimation technique. Generally, the findings of the study showed that child labour hours, household head education, household wealth quintiles (4th, 3rd, 2nd), local area, accessibility and usage of pipe water and flushing toilet facilities, child relationship to household head are important variables that have the possibility of affecting the injury/illness of the child. Hence, increases in child labour hours significantly have adverse health outcomes. It is recommended that the district assemblies must sensitize and educate the public on the hazardous nature of child labour activities and the likely health implications on children’s welfare.