US gives 32 million dollars to combat child labour worldwide

The US Labour Department on Monday announced the allocation of 32.5 million US dollars to tackle child labour worldwide. The initiative includes 15 million US dollars to combat child labour on sugar cane plantations in the Philippines. Labour Department officials said that children around the globe are working in hazardous conditions for miniscule wages, and the US programme is meant to combat the most hazardous type of work. Such jobs include prostitution and child soldiering, as well as working with dangerous machinery or toxic substances. The International Labour Organization estimates that around 200 million children worldwide work - many of them in dangerous conditions - instead of going to school. Speaking at a Labour Department event launching the grants, US Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa said the money is aimed at preventing "the kind of work where (children) lose fingers and thumbs and hands." "No nation can achieve prosperity on the backs of its children," he said, arguing that "everybody loses" in economy that employs underage labourers who do not attend school