Projects
Our international grants support projects to combat some of the most abusive labor practices, including the use of child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking in global supply chains. ILAB-funded projects also promote trade partners’ compliance with the labor requirements of U.S. trade agreements and preference programs – helping to ensure a fair global playing field for workers in the United States and around the world.
Building Governments’ Capacity
ILAB works with governments to make them more effective in combating labor abuses, through efforts in areas such as data collection, monitoring, and enforcement. As a direct result of ILAB initiatives:
- More than 80 countries have strengthened their monitoring and enforcement of laws, regulations, policies, and programs to combat child labor, forced labor and human trafficking;
- More than 60,000 labor inspectors and law enforcement officials have been trained to more effectively enforce child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking laws and regulations; and
- Governments have adopted best practices to assist victims of child labor and forced labor. For example, ILAB worked in partnership with the Government of Paraguay to develop and pilot an electronic system that registers adolescent workers to ensure they are protected under the law and assist with enforcement of labor laws.
Assistance for Vulnerable Children and Families
ILAB projects adopt a holistic approach to promote sustainable efforts that address child labor’s underlying causes, including poverty and lack of access to education. Project strategies include linking vulnerable groups to existing government social programs, providing children with quality education or afterschool services, helping families improve their livelihoods to meet basic needs without relying on child labor, and raising awareness about risks of trafficking so that adults don’t end up in situations of forced labor.
ILAB at the Forefront of Rigorous Evaluation Research
ILAB continues to invest in impact evaluations of innovative interventions to broaden the global knowledge base on effective strategies for combating child labor and forced labor. ILAB’s randomized controlled trials, the gold standard for impact evaluations, allow governments and policymakers to make evidence-informed decisions about programs that affect child laborers and their families.
Find out what ILAB projects are doing in response to COVID-19.
| Title | Amount | Grantee | Start Sort ascending | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
EQUAL - Equal Access to Quality Jobs for Women and Girls in MexicoIn support of Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP), focusing on women and adolescent girls, EQUAL will increase job quality and safety, create opportunities for economic participation, and address gaps in social programs to reach remote and impoverished families in Mexico. |
$5,000,000 | World Vision | 12/15/2019 | 12/14/2023 |
CAPSA - Capacity Strengthening of Governments to Address Child Labor and/or Forced Labor, and Violations of Acceptable Conditions of Work in Sub-Saharan Africa.The CAPSA project seeks to build the capacity of the government of Kenya and other African governments to more effectively combat child labor, forced labor, and violations of acceptable conditions of work by helping them strengthen enforcement of their laws and regulations, improve assistance services for victims, and improve coordination between law enforcement and social protection entities. |
$5,000,000 | International Labor Organization (ILO) | 12/15/2019 | 12/14/2022 |
Evidence to Action: Increasing the Impact of Research to Mobilize Efforts against Forced LaborThis project will promote increased use of forced labor research in policy and programmatic decision-making to help eliminate forced labor around the world. The project will support achievement of this objective by increasing knowledge through robust research on forced labor in the textile and garment sector and engaging decision makers and stakeholders to use this knowledge to take actions against forced labor. |
$3,000,000 | International Labor Organization (ILO) | 12/15/2019 | 12/14/2022 |
Senderos: Sembrando Derechos, Cosechando Mejores FuturosSenderos is a project in Mexico that involves multiple stakeholders in government, the private sector, and civil society working together to improve adherence to international standards on child labor, forced labor, occupational safety and health (OSH), and other acceptable conditions of work in the sugarcane and tobacco sectors in Jalisco and Nayarit. |
$8,000,000 | Verité | 12/04/2019 | 12/03/2023 |
Equal Access to Quality Jobs for Women and Girls in Agriculture (EQUAL) in ColombiaIn support of the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, EQUAL/Colombia aims to reduce the risk of child labor, forced labor, and other violations of labor rights by empowering vulnerable women and girls working in the production of unrefined brown sugar (panela) and the cut flowers sector and promoting a better understanding of labor rights. |
$5,000,000 | PACT | 12/01/2019 | 11/30/2023 |
Against Child Exploitation (ACE) ProjectACE seeks to strengthen governments and communities in Asia to address the worst forms of child labor, including the online sexual exploitation of children, and promote acceptable conditions of work through a unified and participatory approach, beginning with action in the Philippines. |
$5,000,000 | World Vision | 09/30/2019 | 09/29/2023 |
Palma Futuro: Preventing and Reducing Child Labor and Forced Labor in Palm Oil Supply ChainsThis project works to improve the implementation of social compliance systems that promote acceptable conditions of work and the prevention and reduction of child and forced labor in palm oil supply chains in Colombia and Ecuador. It will also disseminate best practices in social compliance systems in these and other palm oil producing countries, particularly Brazil and Peru. |
$6,000,000 | Partners of the Americas | 01/01/2019 | 12/31/2022 |
Attaining Lasting Change (ATLAS)The ATLAS project seeks to build the capacity of host governments to more effectively combat child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking by helping them strengthen their laws and regulations, improve their capacities to enforce them, and strengthen coordination between law enforcement and social protection entities. |
$7,500,000 | Winrock International | 01/01/2019 | 12/31/2022 |
Multi-stakeholder Strategy for Child Labor Elimination in Agriculture in ArgentinaThis project seeks to raise the visibility and understanding of child labor in agriculture in Argentina and contribute to improving the tools and coordination among government entities, the private sector, and civil society to confront the problem. |
$2,500,000 | Desarrollo y Autogestión (DYA) | 01/01/2019 | 10/31/2021 |
Fair Fish: Fostering Accountability in Recruitment for Fishery WorkersThe Fair Fish project seeks to contribute to a fair global playing field for workers and responsible U.S. businesses by engaging with the private sector to reduce forced labor and human trafficking in the fishing and seafood processing sectors in Thailand. |
$4,000,000 | Plan International USA | 01/01/2019 | 12/31/2022 |