Child labor in artisanal and small-scale mining: Implications for health, development and poverty

• Published in: The extractive industries and society 2025-03, Vol.21, p.101577, Article 101577
• Main Authors: Bansah, Kenneth Joseph, Adonteng-Kissi, Obed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Children; Livelihoods; Mercury; Safety; SDG, Guinea
• ISSN: 2214-790X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2024.101577

•Child labor persists in ASM communities despite existing programs aimed at curtailing it.•Children engaged in ASM are exposed to physical, psychological, and organ injuries, as well as ill-health.•The evidence shows that a traumatizing event does not prevent children from participating in child labor in ASM.•The 'Child Labor Poverty Cycle' explains how child labor in ASM perpetuates a cycle of poverty in affected rural communities.•The inadequacy of child labor policies and enforcement necessitates increased government and institutional commitments to address child labor in ASM and its related consequences. This paper investigates the complexities of health-related consequences associated with child labor in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). Based on qualitative data from northeast Guinea, our findings reveal pervasive adverse effects on the physical, psychological, and target organ health of affected children, significantly compromising their quality of life. Physical injuries, psychological distress, and exposure to toxic substances are prevalent, underscoring the inadequacy of existing policies and institutional actions to eradicate child labor and ensure the safety of those involved. Drawing from the findings, we have formulated a conceptual framework, the 'Child Labor Poverty Cycle,' to simplify and explain the intricate dynamics and connections among child labor, poor health outcomes, community vulnerability, and persistent poverty. These interrelated outcomes of child labor are detrimental to the socioeconomic wellbeing of communities, necessitating the need for government and stakeholder institutions to improve protection measures against child labor and address rural poverty, which partly drives children into child labor. Decision-makers can adopt the conceptual framework to inform the development of sustainable policies that address the drivers of child labor.