Research Consultant: Child labour risk mapping in the e-waste value chain in Ghana

General Information

Terre des Hommes Netherlands (TdH NL) is a child rights organisation and an international NGO. Our vision is that children can flourish in a world free from all forms of child exploitation. Our mission is to protect children by preventing and stopping child exploitation and by empowering children to make their voices count. In executing our mission we seek to address the root causes of exploitation by creating scalable, evidence-based solutions and influencing systemic change rather than providing one-off remedies. Our work towards systemic change is driven by five core principles: Children at the centre, Safety and well-being, Intersectionality, Power Awareness and Sustainability. The organisation works together with children and their families, communities, governments, institutional mechanisms, civil society organisations, and the private sector.

Background & Context

The Child Labour Programme stands as one of TdH NL’s core thematic initiatives, focusing directly on tackling the worst forms of child labour (WFCL) as outlined in ILO Convention No. Over the past ten years, TdH NL has built extensive experience addressing child labour in mining and quarrying, particularly in mica mining programmes across India and Madagascar. Leveraging this established expertise and our proven track record in addressing root causes of child labour in mica extraction, TdH NL is broadening its scope to broaden to new geographical areas and to cover the minerals supply chain more comprehensively, including the management of electronic waste (e-waste).

Ghana generates an estimated 172,250 metric tonnes of e-waste annually, alongside historical imports of 215,000 tons—of which 70% were second-hand goods. Lacking formal recycling infrastructure, 95%-97% of all e-waste is absorbed by an informal sector concentrated in urban hubs like Agbogbloshie in Accra, Suame Magazine and Oforikrom in Kumasi, and regional yards in Takoradi, Koforidua, and Tamale. Recovery largely relies on rudimentary, polluting methods—including manual dismantling, battery acid dumping, and open cable burning—conducted without adequate environmental safeguards or personal protective equipment.

Within this informal economy, child labour is an entrenched reality. Minors represent an estimated 1%-15% of the informal scrap workforce, with underage workers present in over 20% of surveyed scrap yards and over half of all scrapyard workers under the age of 25. The workforce is predominantly male adolescents aged 16–18, making up 2.06% of surveyed scrap workers, while children aged 5–10 (0.94%) are also actively involved. Assessments at Agbogbloshie found that minors under 18 constituted 15.3% of workers, serving as collectors pushing heavy scrap carts in informal apprenticeships from age 11. Children as young as 5 have been documented recovering scrap for under US$ 20 per month, while adolescents work adult shifts of 10–12 hours daily. Beyond street collection, minors perform hazardous tasks such as dismantling end-of-life vehicles and burning plastic cables for copper recovery.

Child labour in the sector is driven by household living income deficits and rural-to-urban youth migration from northern Ghana (such as Tamale, Bolgatanga, and Wa), where over 75% of informal scrap workers originate, citing earning personal income (52.86%), supplementing household income (14.29%), unaffordable school fees (10.00%), and vacation work (10.00%) as key drivers. Consequently, educational attainment is severely undermined: 54.55% of child labourers in the sector do not attend school, 18.18% attend irregularly, and those enrolled are confined mostly to primary (42.86%) and junior high (42.86%) levels.

These conditions violate ILO Conventions C138 and C182, as well as Ghana’s Children’s Act of 1998 (Act 560), which restricts youth aged 13–17 strictly to non-hazardous light work under 14 hours per week. Children face high toxic susceptibility, absorbing higher doses of contaminants relative to their body weight than adults and eightfold greater health risks from contaminated dust. Exposure to heavy metals (lead, cadmium, manganese) causes irreversible cognitive deficits and neurodevelopmental disorders, with over 97% of tested informal e-waste workers showing elevated blood lead levels linked to altered global DNA methylation. The absence of social protection and planning further leaves workers to personally bear the costs of frequent injuries and illnesses. Despite national frameworks such as the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Act, 2016 (Act 917), LI 2250, and the EPA Technical Guidelines (2018), enforcement gaps leave child labour hidden within informal operations.

Scope

This qualitative study investigates children’s engagement across Ghana’s informal e-waste value chain, moving beyond general prevalence estimates to examine specific risks and structural drivers. Utilizing local primary data collection rather than quantitative surveying, the research identifies high-risk stages, specific tasks performed by children, and intersectional vulnerabilities (e.g., gender, age, and socioeconomic background). If feasible, it also traces how domestic and cross-border e-waste flows influence these dynamics. The final analytical emphasis will be refined based on timeline, resources, and technical feasibility, e.g. via desk research.

Specifically, the study will focus on key knowledge gaps to establish foundational qualitative insights regarding child labour risks in e-waste management, serving as an exploratory phase to guide potential subsequent research and programming. Additionally, the research will identify existing information and data gaps while generating actionable recommendations to guide future interventions and possible policy development.

Objective & Research question

Objective: Explore and understand the e-waste value chain in Ghana—with a specific geographic focus on Accra and Kumasi—the occurrence of child labor, working conditions, and other child rights violations to inform preventative and systemic interventions.

Proposed primary research question: To what extent, where, under what conditions, and why are children involved in the e-waste sector?

Topics of interest include:

• Types of e-waste and target materials: Primary categories found in Ghana (e.g., ICT
  equipment, small and large household appliances) and the most sought-after minerals.
• Material flows and value chains: Key stages (generation → storage → resale →
  collection → dismantling → recycling/treatment) and the reinjection routes that return
  recovered materials to manufacturing markets
• Actor mapping: Key stakeholders, intermediaries, informal networks operating at each
  stage of the chain, organisations and governmental institutions.
• Profile Child Labor Demographics and Scale: Assess the scope and geographic
  concentrations of child labor in e-waste within Accra and Kumasi, disaggregating
  findings by age, gender, schooling status, and barriers to education.
• Entry pathways: Assess how children enter the sector (e.g., household coping
  strategies, informal apprenticeships/employers, trafficking)
• Assess Hazardous Work Conditions: Document the specific labor tasks assigned to
  children across age brackets and determine the direct and indirect health, safety, and
  environmental risks affecting them, their families, and host communities.
• Trace Material Flows and Recovered Commodities: Identify the dominant e-waste
  streams, target minerals/metals, and commercial supply chain hubs operating in and
  between Accra and Kumasi.
• Analyze Socio-Economic Dynamics and Drivers: Detail the household economic
  situations, parental involvement, and community drivers that influence children’s
  participation in e-waste labor.
• Examine Financial Distribution and Exploitation: Evaluate pricing mechanisms and
  income distribution across intermediaries and dealers, contrasting these with child
  compensation and hazardous labor terms.
• Identify Stakeholders and Strategic Entry Points: Map relevant governmental
  institutions, civil society organizations, and private/informal associations to identify
  prospective partners and practical intervention entry points.
• Social protection landscape: Existing local safety nets, critical gaps, and how they
  intersect with informal e-waste livelihoods.

If feasible, the research may also touch upon (e.g. via desk research):

• 1. Trace International Trade Linkages: Map export channels connecting Ghanaian scrap
  buyers to foreign manufacturing sectors, with specific attention to European and Dutch
  supply chains.
• 2. Appraise the Legal and Regulatory Environment: Review national policies and legal mechanisms concerning e-waste management, minimum working age, and hazardous child labor enforcement.

Profile and application process

This is a temporary consultancy assignment based in Ghana. Desired consultants will have:

● Extensive experience in conducting participatory research and qualitative research
methodologies, including focus group discussions and (small group) interviews;
● Strong understanding of (the worst forms of) child labour and its root causes in the
electronics supply chain;
● Preference for candidates from Ghana to ensure cultural and contextual understanding,
speaking local languages to facilitate communication with the target groups;
● Experience with co-designing research methodology is preferred;
● Available to start from 1 November or ASAP with a foreseen end date of 31.12.2026.

Who can apply

Any individual or agency – ideally based in Ghana – fitting the profile mentioned can apply.
Agencies need to have no conflict of interest.

The deadline for submission of applications is: 9 November 2026.