ABSTRACT
Accepted for publication 13 September 2005
Introduction
Child labour has been the subject of public health
discourse especially in countries with poor econo-
mies. Some authorities have distinguished between
child labour and child work, where child work is
considered to be part of the children’s training to
be responsible adults and child labour is thought
to be exploitative (Nkurlu 2000). In the traditional
Nigerian setting, child work is regarded as training
critical to healthy social and moral upbringing of
the child (Oloko 1993). In recent times, however,
there has been changes in the nature and scope of
work that children do. The motivation, expecta-
tions, remuneration and intensity of work is also
changing. Although the lines demarcating child
work from child labour are not clearly defined,
many children are now engaged in economic activ-
ities which can be labelled as child labour. Children
working on the streets, out of reach of parents or
guardians are a prominent feature in large cities in
Brazil, India and the other developing countries
(Ebrahim 1984; Rosa etal. 1992; Martins &
Ebrahim 1993; Salem & Abdul Latif 2002). Their
health and social problems remain a public health
concern.
