Health Problems among Child Labour in the Brick Industries of Nepal

Research Article

Austin J Public Health Epidemiol. 2019; 6(1): 1083.

Health Problems among Child Labour in the Brick Industries of Nepal

Banstola S1, Acharya SR2* and Shin YC3

¹Monitoring Officer, Manahari Development Institute (MDI), Nepal

²Department of Occupational Health and Safety, College of Natural Science, Inje University,, South Korea

³Department of Occupational Health and Safety, College of Natural Science, Inje University,, South Korea

*Corresponding author: Shiva Raj Acharya, Department of Occupational Health and Safety, College of Natural Science, Inje University, South Korea

Received: March 19, 2019; Accepted: July 02, 2019; Published: July 09, 2019

Abstract

Background: Child labour remains a major economic and social phenomenon in Nepal. Children involved in these forms of child labour start working between the ages of 10 and 14.

Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out to assess the work-related injuries and musculoskeletal disorders among 225 child workers of age above five and up to seventeen years in brick kiln factories of Tanahu district, Nepal.

Results: Among the respondents, majorities (62.2%) were males and 37.8% were females and 35% children were at age between nine to eleven years. They faced health problems during the last month as fatigue or exhaustion, minor cut or bruises, body pain. Half of them suffered from breathing difficulty and more than half suffered musculoskeletal disorders from Grade III BPD with severe pain where elbows, hands, wrists, knees, ankles and feet. 60% of them suffered from insomnia, about 6.7% involved in smoking and 21.8% consuming alcohol. Study showed that younger children among the sampled respondents were found more prone to the health problems due to work.

Conclusion: It is estimated that presence of high workloads, extremely long working hours, poor working environments and unsafely working hours has contributed to musculoskeletal disorders, injuries and other health problems exposing the working children to risks and hazards from the brick factory. The concept of safety, ergonomics and industrial hygiene was missing among the sampled brick kiln factories.

Keywords: Brick industry; Child workers; Ergonomics; Musculoskeletal disorders; Nepal

Introduction

The welfare of the entire community, its growth and development depends on the health, strength and well-being of its children. The prosperity and development of any country would certainly depend upon ‘human development’ or the well-being of its people in general and children in particular, than the development of their military or economic strength or the splendor of their capital cities and public buildings. Child is the person under the age of eighteen and the term “child labour” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.