Health status of working and non-working school children in Ibadan, Nigeria

Child labour continues to pose a challenge to national and international agencies. This study compares the health status of working and non-working school children in Ibadan, Nigeria. Altogether, 223 working and 230 non-working children were inter-viewed. Their ages ranged between 8 and 15 years. Fifty-nine (13%) reported fever, 36 (8%) visual problems, 28 (6%) skin lesions, 17 (4%) muscular and joint pains and 5 (1%) diarrhoea. Schistosoma ova were observed in 25 (6%) children. There was no difference in the occurrence of diseases between working and non-working children. Twenty-seven per cent of the children were underweight and 30% were stunted. Malnutrition was more prevalent among working children as 74 (33%) were underweight (p = 0.001) and 76 (34%) were stunted. Public enlightenment about the effect of child labour might discourage parents from engaging their school-age children in work. Governments should address the socio-economic factors that promote child labour.