KINGSTON, Jamaica -Jamaica’s Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) has been lauded as a regional best practice in child labour prevention at the ongoing 6th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour.

In a press release on Thursday, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) indicated that a high-level delegation is representing Jamaica at the conference currently underway in Marrakesh, Morocco, from February 11–13, 2026.

The meeting brings together global leaders to discuss strategies to combat the 138 million children in child labour, many of whom face poverty, inequality, and lack access to key social services.

The discussions of the leaders at the event focused partly on education and child protection as key components of effective strategies to address child labour. Employer representative, Ronald Ramlogan from Trinidad and Tobago, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean on the issue of education and social protection, recognised PATH as regional best practice.

Administered by the MLSS, the programme provides conditional cash transfers to vulnerable families, supports the school feeding programme and has a requirement for mandatory school attendance — addressing poverty and strengthening school participation as preventive measures against child labour.

Participation in the global conference follows Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles Jr representing Jamaica on Tuesday at the Caribbean sub- region in The Americas- Key Alliances for the Elimination of Child Labour: prevention as a pathway to eradication, virtual discussions.

In that session, Charles Jr highlighted Jamaica’s use of the Child Labour Risk Identification Model (CLRISK), an evidence-based tool that supports targeted community-level interventions. Jamaica was also invited to share its experience as the first Caribbean country to utilise the Internatoonal Labour Organization (ILO) risk assessment instrument in support of its National Action Plan (NAP) for Combating Child Labour.

The ILO Director General, Gilbert Houngbo, in his opening message to the conference elaborated on the approximately 138 million children engaged in child labour, indicating that an estimated “59 million girls and 78 million boys remain in child labour; that for us, is simply unacceptable”.

“This is not just a moral failure, it is also an economic one, with lasting effects on productivity, growth, and social cohesion. The face of child labour is very young; 57 per cent of children are between 5-11 years old. Fifty-one per cent of child labour appears in agriculture,” he said.

He further indicated that “decent working conditions for teachers is paramount and critical, and prevention also requires rural development and climate change action.” Further, he called for a movement away from unpaid work involving girls and a movement towards their greater participation in education.