The International Cocoa Initiative promotes child protection in cocoa-growing communities. We work to ensure a better future for children and their families.
ICI’s 2019 annual report: Learning from impact, innovating to scale up
To mark the World Day Against Child Labour, the International Cocoa Initiative launches its 2019 Annual Report. Showing progress from last year, but also examining the results of longer running efforts to tackle child labour, the report shows that significant impact is possible when resources are invested, but it also underlines that sector-wide scale up is more important than...
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ICI publishes awareness-raising materials to support fight against child labour
During a time of global crisis that is increasing the risk of child labour in West Africa and beyond, the International Cocoa Initiative has published a collection of awareness-raising tools designed to support the fight against child labour.
“A boy your age should not be doing this kind of dangerous work, especially without an adult to watch over you,” so begins the animate...
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ECLIC reduces hazardous child labour among supported households in 50 Ivorian communities
Last year, the Eliminating Child Labor in Cocoa-Growing Communities in Côte d’Ivoire (ECLIC) reached its conclusion. The project saw several key results: a substantial decrease in hazardous child labour among supported children; increased awareness of child labour and the importance of school; increased community empowerment, and improved access to quality education.
Beginni...
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Can cash transfers reduce child labour? ICI review unpacks their effects
Cash transfers are increasingly used as a way of addressing poverty across the world. Evidence shows that they can have a positive impact on children’s welfare, improving access to education, nutrition, health and material wellbeing. However, much less is known about their impact on child labour. The International Cocoa Initiative conducted a review of evidence on how cash tran...
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Where we are working
Click the green symbols to visit the ICI core programme communities, and the yellow symbols to visit the ECLIC communities.
Cocoa News
CONFECTIONERY PRODUCTION - Three key groups including the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa (GISCO), Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa (SWISSCO) and the Belgian platform Beyond Chocolate have united to deliver on supporting key communities in the cocoa supply chain. Read More
CONFECTIONERY NEWS - Chocolate and confectionery make The Hershey Company reached a milestone in its CSR strategy in January when 100% of the cocoa it sources was certified sustainable. FoodNavigator speaks to the company's director of global sustainability and social impact Jeff Kind about progress to date and the road ahead. Read More
GHANA WEB - Ghana, through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGSCP) and stakeholders, will commerate AU Day of the African Child on from June 10 to create nationwide awareness on child-friendly justice in the country. Read More
CONFECTIONERY PRODUCTION - The US-headquartered Hershey Company has released its 2019 Sustainability Report, revealing progress on key areas including its responsible cocoa sourcing scheme and supply chain improvements to support African producing nations. Neill Barston reports Read More
CONFECTIONERY NEWS - Jeff King, Hershey's senior director of global sustainability and social impact, is the person responsible for the company's Cocoa for Good sustainability program, which has committed to 100% direct-sourced cocoa in West Africa by 2025. He talks to Confectionery News about the company's achievements so far and wider issues affecting the cocoa sector. Read More
CONFECTIONERY NEWS - New findings that have aided the development of the new 2020 Rainforest Alliance certification program to be published later this month, it announced. Read More
CONFECTIONERY PRODUCTION - The World Cocoa Foundation has confirmed it is to hold its annual partnership meeting online rather than the physical event planned in Colombia this November, amid ongoing concerns surrounding coronavirus. Read More
BLOOMBERG GREEN - Last year was the third-worst this century for tropical tree-loss according to new data released Tuesday by Global Forest Watch, an online platform that provides data and tools for monitoring forests. There is, however, a sliver of good news: The world’s most important cocoa-producing countries, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, showed signs of progress, halving the damage of the prior year. Read More
CONFECTIONERY PRODUCTION - Child labour within the cocoa sector remains a key matter for the confectionery sector, with around 2 million children in Ghana and Ivory Coast alone said to be in some form of labour, despite the sector’s efforts to respond on the issue. In this guest blog Kunera Moore, Lead – tackling child labor at the Rainforest Alliance, offers some hope on this major issue. Read More
GLOBAL NEWS WIRE - The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) today announced an expansion of its Cocoa For Good program, committing to 100% direct-sourced cocoa in high-risk areas by 2025, which will include all of its cocoa sourced by its suppliers from Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. This expanded commitment will make Hershey’s cocoa from these countries traceable from the farm to the first point of purchase, giving Hershey a clear line of sight into where all of its cocoa from West Africa is grown and how it is produced – providing more transparency for consumers and all stakeholders. Read More
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