Peer-reviewed article
Public Procurement and Child Labour in Ghana and Nigeria
Miriam Amanze ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This article examines how public procurement frameworks in Ghana and Nigeria address child labour throughout the supply chain process. The study finds that both countries' legal frameworks are inadequate in preventing child labour in government contracting. The research highlights an important gap: while child labour remains prevalent across Africa, public procurement has rarely been examined as a policy lever to tackle it. The article recommends improvements to existing legal frameworks to better protect children.
Key points
- Africa hosts over 50% of the world's child labourers
- Child labour persists in government supply chains in Ghana and Nigeria despite domestic laws and international treaties
- Public procurement frameworks in both countries have inadequate measures addressing child labour
- Child labour prevention through public procurement has not received substantial academic and policy attention
- Improvements to legal frameworks are needed across planning, tendering, contract award and contract management phases
Limitations
The document does not provide quantitative data on the extent of child labour in public procurement, nor does it detail specific examples of violations or mechanisms that currently exist in either country's frameworks. It does not evaluate the effectiveness of any proposed interventions.
Abstract
Abstract Despite numerous domestic laws and treaties prohibiting child labour, the practice persists in many African countries, including in government supply chains. It is important to highlight the connection between public procurement and child labour in Africa because the continent hosts over 50% of the world’s child labourers. Furthermore, tackling child labour through public procurement processes has not attracted much academic and policy attention. In order to shift this narrative, this article examines the public procurement frameworks of Ghana and Nigeria to reveal how they address child labour throughout the process of planning, tendering, contract award and contract management. It finds that the selected countries’ legal frameworks are inadequate in addressing child labour and recommends measures to improve the identified limitations.