Engaging Cocoa Cooperatives to Combat Child Labor

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL, or the Department), announces the availability of approximately $8,000,000 total costs (subject to the availability of federal funds) for two cooperative agreements of $4,000,000 each to fund one technical assistance project in Côte d’Ivoire and one in Ghana to increase the number of cocoa cooperatives demonstrating a reduction of child labor in the cocoa supply chain. The projects will aim to achieve the following outcomes: Outcome 1: Improved accountability of cocoa cooperatives to monitor child labor in the cocoa supply chain.Outcome 1.1: Strengthened capacity of enforcement agencies to enforce child labor laws within cooperatives.Outcome 1.2: Strengthened capacity of cocoa cooperatives to monitor child labor.Outcome 2: Increased support to vulnerable cocoa households within cocoa cooperatives.Outcome 2.1: Strengthened capacity of cocoa cooperatives to provide sustainable assistance and support to prevent child labor.Outcome 2.2: Increased access to social protection and child labor remediation programs. The duration of the project will be a maximum of 4.5 years (54 months) from the effective date of the award.