THOUSANDS OF YEMENI CHILD LABORERS FACE DANGEROUS DISEASES

SANA'A, April 11 (Saba) - A recent governmental study has shown that the the number of Yemeni child laborers working in the agricultural sector is 192000.

Hajjah province in the far north was on top of Yemeni cities with 50000 child laborers; Ibb came second with 38000, Sana'a third with 29000, Amran fourth with 28000, Dhamar fifth with 27000, and Hodeida with 20000.

The study conducted by the Anti-Child Labor Administration at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs said the bad economic, social and political conditions, poverty and population growth in the country have helped to the increased child labor.

Dropout and regional and international economic and social changes that had repercussions on the national economy also boosted, it added.

The study also warned that the child laborers are vulnerable to diseases such blindness, asthma and skin eruption because they work in an unhealthy environment using dangerous pesticides and poisons.

So far, about 45 per cent of them are suffering from skin eruption, 30 per cent suffering from slight asthma and 20 per cent suffering from intestinal diseases.

Moreover, the study noted that the rate of female child laborers in the countryside is higher than in the urban areas, adding that about 53 per cent of child laborers in the countryside are females.

FR