UNICEF & partners aid child labourers and fight tr...

IAMEY, Niger, 15 June 2007 -- The sight of children toiling in the streets is part of the daily landscape here in Niger's capital. In one of the poorest countries in the world, two-thirds of children under the age of 14 work. They come from all over the country and sometimes from other countries in the region -- especially Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana. Some of these children are trafficked, and many end up in the capital's central bus station. From there, they are hired out for menial tasks such as washing dishes and selling and transporting various wares. Across the African continent, children are trafficked into prostitution and recruited into armed groups as child soldiers or porters; they provide cheap or even unpaid labour and often work as domestics or beggars. These children typically are between 7 and 14 years of age. In most cases, they have families -- but very poor families.