According to Uganda National Household (HH) Survey, 2022, Karamoja has the highest prevalence of child trafficking where trafficked children are subjected to forced labour and sexual exploitation in Nairobi, Kampala and nearby cities in Uganda. The report also indicates that 56% of the children are engaged in hazardous labor including street begging, domestic work, courtship rape, bonded labour, mining/quarrying, charcoal/firewood business and work in agricultural fields in Teso region.
A crisis rooted in desperation
The root cause was clear. Extreme poverty and food insecurity, worsened by prolonged drought, had left families with no choice. “I used to send my children to work so we could eat,” one mother admitted, echoing the desperation of many. For teenage girls, the situation was even more precarious—many were forced into exploitative labor to support their families.
According to UNICEF’s children’s Climate Risk Index, Uganda ranks as a high-risk country with over 70% of the population facing food poverty due to persistent droughts, floods, and land degradation, forcing children into exploitative labor for sustenance. The sub region is facing severe impacts from the climate crisis, affecting agriculture and WASH/Health sectors.
Education, often seen as the solution, remains out of reach for many. Schools are too far, hunger keeps children home, and parents struggling for survival see child labor as a necessity, not a choice. Even rescued children, placed back in school, face new challenges—one headteacher told me that without reliable water access, some might return to the streets.
Hope on the horizon
Yet, there is hope. In Napak during a multi-sectoral engagement, I witnessed community leaders, local government officials, Ministry of Gender Labor and Social Development and development partners, including Woord en Daad and her partners Hope for Justice and TUNADO, working together to combat child labor. Legal frameworks exist, government initiatives such Uganda National Action Plan – a strategy to prevent, withdraw, rehabilitate and integrate children from child labor, the Third Karamoja Integrated Development Plan (KIDP3), actions funded by the European Union like the Prevention and Restoration of Exploited Children (PREC) project, and Irish Aid among others are making a difference. However, enforcement must be stronger, and sustainable alternatives for families—livelihood programs, accessible education, and child protection services—must be scaled up.
Therefore addressing the root causes through a concerted effort, long term programming perhaps using unique models, working with private sector—continued advocacy, stronger enforcement of policies from local to national level and greater access to education—we can ensure that the children of Karamoja grow up to lead fulfilling, healthy lives, free from the burdens of labor that rob them of their childhood
Karamoja’s children deserve more than survival. They deserve a future. Will you stand with them?