US awards $4m to fight child labour in artisanal gold mines

The United States Department of Labour has announced the award of a $4 million cooperative agreement to Pact, an international development organisation, to support Tanzania’s efforts to combat child labour and promote safer working conditions in the country’s artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector.

Administered by the Bureau of International Labour Affairs (ILAB), the new project will focus on building the capacity of both government agencies and civil society to address child labour and improve labour conditions in mining communities. Specifically, the initiative will target Geita Region, a known hotspot for artisanal gold mining in Tanzania.

The initiative aims to enhance local and national efforts to combat the worst forms of child labour in the gold mining industry by providing data, strengthening monitoring systems, and testing community-driven solutions.

 Tanzania’s artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector has long been associated with severe child labour issues, as highlighted in the U.S. Department of Labour’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labour report.

Children in the gold mining industry face extreme risks, including exposure to dangerous working conditions such as navigating narrow, unreinforced mineshafts, working with toxic metals and chemicals, and carrying heavy gold ore bags.