Promising practice: Engaging local government units to combat child labor

From 2011 to 2016, World Vision’s ABK3 LEAP project (Livelihoods, Education, Advocacy and Protection to Reduce Child Labor in Sugarcane Areas) worked across eight provinces in the Philippines to build and sustain child labor-free communities. Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, the project strengthened the capacity of local government units (LGUs) and local councils for the protection of children (LCPCs) to implement child labor policies, allocate resources, and integrate child protection into development planning. A key facilitating factor was increasing local leaders’ awareness of children’s rights and the harms of hazardous child labor, which transformed many into advocates and resulted in ordinances, reactivated LCPCs, budgeted initiatives such as learning centers and catch-up programs, and the establishment of local child labor monitoring systems. This multi-level, participatory approach helped institutionalize child protection and laid the groundwork for sustainable change.