Brazil halves the percentage of children working

Brazil has made spectacular progress in reducing child labour over the past 15 years. According to a study by the Brazilian Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), the number of working children aged between five and 14 fell by more than half between 1992 and 2008. It is now estimated at 1.7 million, or 5% in this age group, compared with 13% in 1992. According to Brazil's federal constitution – as well as Convention 138 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) – no child aged under 16 may work, with the exception of children over 14 who are in a professional apprenticeship. Brazil is ahead of the ILO target to reduce child labour by between a third and a half within 25 years, and holds fourth place for best performance in Latin America, behind Colombia and Costa Rica. The reason lies in the efficient implementation of the programme to eradicate child labour launched in the 1990s, which cracked down on the most blatant abuse and provided financial incentives for families to send their children to school. In 2003, the programme was merged with the government's anti-poverty programme, the bolsa familia (family welfare,) that has been President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's greatest social success. This "conditional cash transfer programme", as the economists call it, works on a simple principle: the state pays a monthly allowance to poor and very poor families on condition their children go to school and are up to date with their vaccinations. Children and teenagers from six to 15 must attend at least 85% of classes, and those aged between 16 and 17 must attend 75%. The amount – mostly collected and managed by mothers – depends on the family income and number of children. A family with a monthly per capita income below 70 reals ($38) is considered very poor and would receive a basic subsidy of 68 reals, with or without children. Both poor and very poor families are paid 22 reals ($12) per child under 15 at school, up to a maximum of three children, and 33 reals for those under 17 at school, up to a maximum of two. In all, 46 million people from 12.4 million families benefit from the bolsa familia, or one Brazilian in four. Ricardo Paes de Barros, author of the IPEA study, said the programme had played a "crucial role" in the fight against child labour. But the battle has yet to be won, notably in the poor inland regions of the north and the arid Nordeste region. More than four out of 10 children work in agriculture, and whether they work or not, 14 million children and teenagers still do not attend school in Brazil. Kinshu's challenge Kinshu Kumar, 14, from Uttar Pradesh in India, may have been the youngest participant at the Global Child Labour Conference in The Hague last month, but he is a veteran in the struggle. Kinshu says that his first life ended six-and-a-half years ago when he stopped washing cars in the streets with his parents and began his fight to stop child labour. In India, 8.6 million children aged between five and 14 work; 45.2 million are not in school. Inspired by the Indian activist Kailash Satyarthi, who initiated the Global March Against Child Labour in 1998, he is not impressed by world leaders. His message is clear: "You have the laws, you have the money. Now get down to work!" Brigitte Perucca This article first appeared in Le Monde .