Impact of child labour on mental health
Thematic Panel
12/02/2026
11:15
-
13:00
Plenary Hall
Watch this session live on ILO Live streaming.
Child labour remains a worrying global phenomenon, affecting millions of children, particularly in contexts of poverty, crises, and the informal economy. Beyond its physical and educational consequences, child labour has deep and lasting impacts on the mental health and psychosocial well-being of the children concerned. Early exposure to arduous, hazardous, or abusive working conditions increases the risks of chronic stress, anxiety, depression, psychological trauma, and hinders children’s emotional, cognitive, and social development. Yet the mental health dimension remains insufficiently integrated into policies and programmes aimed at combating child labour. This thematic session aims to create a space for reflection, exchange, and capacity-building around the links between mental health, child protection, and child labour, in order to promote more holistic and child-centred responses.
Speakers

Pr Ghizlane Benjelloun
Vice-President of the National Observatory for the Rights of Children (ONDE)
The National Observatory for the Rights of Children (ONDE)

Elspeth Chapman
Strategic Partnerships and Advocacy Specialist
Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action

Armando Barriguette
Member of the National Research System of the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition SZ
The National Research System of the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition SZ

Philip D. Jaffé
Professor and member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child
University of Geneva

Chakib Guessou
Radiologist, socio-anthropologist, social scientist, international consultant and essayist

