Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the Chocolate and Cocoa Industry and the ILO to Combat Child Labour in Cocoa Growing Communities in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire (preparatory phase) 1 Background This Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the ILO and the Global Issues Group seeks to provide additional support to ILO activities in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire aimed at the progressive elimination of child labour in cocoa growing communities in the two countries. Existing ILO-IPEC projects, namely the West Africa/ECOWAS projects I and II and the Cocoa Communities Project (CCP) are engaged in a number of interventions in cocoa growing communities aimed at: strengthening national and local capacity; promoting coordination, cooperation and social and civil society dialogue; effective policy development and implementation; productivity and decent work; and the provision of key services to children and communities, including through the development of a broader reach of effective child labour monitoring systems (CLMS). The current PPP will build on the lessons and good practices learnt from these experiences and collaborations. 2 Strategies and Objectives In pursuit of three immediate objectives concerning capacity, CLMS and coordination, this PPP will add expertise and inputs to: promote increased capacity for policy, agronomy and occupational safety and health; better coordination of efforts, communication and consolidation of knowledge; and leverage further resources for key services such as education in the communities concerned. Immediate Objective 1: The capacity of governments, social partners and cocoa farmers to combat child labour in cocoa growing communities is strengthened The Public Private Partnership will work closely with the USDOL-funded IPEC Cocoa Communities (CCP) and ECOWAS I and II projects to strengthen capacity of ILO constituents and civil society at the national, district and community levels. Training and technical assistance will be provided to ministries of agriculture, education and others to integrate child labour concerns more fully into relevant policies and plans and to support the implementation of National Action Plans against Child Labour. The PPP will provide support to mainstream child labour concerns into district level development plans and provide training on financial and budget management, project design and the drafting of proposals. The project also will support the development of greater capacity of farmers in targeted communities to protect occupational safety and health and gain improved livelihoods, including through increased cocoa yields and productivity. Immediate Objective 2: Child Labour Monitoring Systems are strengthened and expanded In those PPP communities that are not also the site of interventions of the CCP or other significant child labour interventions, local child labour monitoring systems will be established. These will engage community leaders, teachers, parents, members of cooperatives, smallholders’ organizations and rural workers’ organizations, local authorities and labour inspectors to identify children involved in child labour, refer them to services, and track them afterwards to ensure that they have appropriate alternatives. In communities where CLMS have already been established, the PPP will provide ongoing training and support, using existing IPEC training materials. Immediate Objective 3: National Steering Committees lead improved coordination of efforts to combat child labour in cocoa growing communities Improved coordination of the many actors and initiatives contributing to the elimination of child labour in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, directly or indirectly, can significantly enhance the effectiveness of these efforts. Coordination is ultimately the responsibility of national structures established for this purpose, namely National Steering Committees against Child Labour. However the PPP can play a pivotal role in accelerating improved coordination, while building the capacity of national structures to coordinate more effectively and without extensive external support in future. It can also support the cocoa industry