It's estimated there are over 1. Child labour is still rampant in the country and is driven by poverty and harmful cultural practices, International Labour Organisation's Grace Banya revealed as Kenya joins the world in marking World Day Against Child Labour today. In Kenya, child labour mainly manifests itself in the forms of domestic work, street hawking, herding, sand harvesting, sexual exploitation, farm work and children working in the transport sector, especially as boda boda riders.
This shows it is rampant not just in the far-flung counties but also in urban areas including Nairobi where scenes of children hawking sweets are common, a phenomenon that has been linked to child trafficking across borders. Cultural practices such as Female Genital Mutilation FGM also put the children at risk as the girls are married off after being cut and expected to do adult work," she revealed during a recent Child Protection stakeholders' forum in Namanga, Kajiado County.
In Kenya, efforts to address these gaps in the welfare of children in terms of protection of their rights and the provision of children services gained progress with the enactment of the Children Act, in July of the same year to give effect to Article 53 of the Constitution. The Act establishes the National Council for Children's Services as a regulator, overseer and advisor of government on children matters, whereas the Directorate of Children Services is established as a lead implementer in the provisions of the Act.
Specifically, the Act provides for safeguarding children's rights, delineating parental responsibilities and establishing provisions for various forms of children's: alternative care including guardianship, foster care placement and adoption and; further makes provisions on the rights and welfare of special groups of children, including those in conflict with the law, children in armed conflict, refugee children, those exposed to or recruited into violent extremism, children living with disabilities and those in need of online child protection.
The two child protection entities are currently under-resourced hence affecting the quality and extent of child welfare and protection services.
