The system is expected to strengthen child protection efforts, particularly in agriculture, artisanal and small-scale mining, domestic work, and other informal sectors where children are vulnerable to hazardous and exploitative labour.

The system has been designed to interoperate with other child protection systems in Ghana to facilitate seamless case referrals, improve information sharing and strengthen coordination among agencies responsible for child protection.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), through its ACCEL Africa Project in partnership with the Child Labour Unit of the Ministry of Labour, Jobs and Employment, organised a four-day training from September for selected regional and district stakeholders in project implementing areas.

The training was to equip officers directly involved in child labour identification, monitoring, referral and case management with the knowledge and practical skills to use the system effectively.

Mr Bismark Quartey, National Project Coordinator of the ILO’s ACCEL Africa Project in Ghana, speaking at the training, emphasised the importance of reliable data in addressing child labour.

He said timely and accurate data was fundamental to effective action against child labour, adding that the new system provided stakeholders with a common mechanism to document cases, understand their characteristics and underlying causes, initiate appropriate interventions and follow up on children and families receiving support.

Developed with funding from the ILO through the ACCEL Africa Project and other development partners, in collaboration with the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Labour, Jobs and Employment, the GCLMS provides a common framework for collecting, managing, analysing and reporting child labour information.

The system is expected to help district and regional officers maintain accurate case records and ensure that information followed each case from identification through referral and follow-up.

Participants undertook practical field exercises during the training to learn how to register and document cases, update case information, manage data, generate reports, and monitor follow-up actions.

Mr Frederick Osei Agyemang, a participant from the Social Welfare Department in Bibiani, said the training had improved his understanding of how to use the system to document cases from identification through referral and follow-up.

He said it would help officers at the district level improve the quality of information collected and ensure that identified cases received appropriate support.

The GCLMS is also expected to facilitate information sharing among stakeholders through its interoperability with other child labour monitoring systems.

The rollout is expected to support timely, evidence-based decisions and enable stakeholders to track interventions and assess whether children and families are receiving the necessary assistance.

The initiative forms part of Ghana’s broader efforts to strengthen national systems to prevent and eliminate child labour and protect children from work that threatens their safety, development, and future.