The International Labour Organization (ILO) recently launched a series of awareness campaigns across 20 rural communities in Nigeria’s Ondo State, to increase health insurance registration among communities affected by child labour.
The initiative took place under the ILO’s Global Accelerator Lab project, funded by the United States Department of Labor, to raise awareness about the Ondo State Contributory Health Scheme, including the “Orange Health Insurance Scheme” for informal sector workers and the “Basic Healthcare Provision Fund Programme” for vulnerable individuals.
The ILO says that increased take up of these schemes can contribute to the reduction of child labour by improving the wellbeing and productivity of cocoa farmers and other informal workers.
The four-day campaign saw the ILO collaborate with trade unions, community-based organisations, the Ondo State Contributory Health Commission, and Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN), to deliver targeted messaging on the benefits of these health insurance schemes.
CFAN is the umbrella body for smallholder farmers and co-operatives across Nigeria’s cocoa producing states.
The ILO expects the results of this campaign to include increased awareness and commitment to child labour elimination, better collaboration among stakeholders and improved capacity of co-operative societies.
839 individuals were engaged across the 20 project communities, including Chief Akinola Akinwole, who told the ILO:
“Before now, I didn’t know my family could benefit from health insurance. Through this programme, I’ve learned how to enrol and protect my children’s future. This knowledge will also help me focus on improving my farm without worrying about unexpected medical costs.”
Vanessa Phala, director of the ILO Country Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, said that ensuring access to health insurance for vulnerable communities is a “significant step” towards eliminating child labour and improving livelihoods, adding:
“This campaign exemplifies how collaboration between governments, workers’ representatives, and organisations like the ILO can foster real change.”
