The problem of child work is a serious problem that endangers the future of developing countries due to association between child work and impairment of its physical and mental development. This study was intended to give an idea about the prevalence of the problem of child work, to study the socioeconomic backgrounds of those working children as well as to study the possible effects of work on the health of children. A cluster sample of 1023 children were chosen. They were aged from 10-15 years old. The prevalence of child work was 22.6% (231 child). Seventy percent of working children were males that mainly leave the school to learn a fob and earn money. Most of their fathers were illiterate and manual workers. Their mothers were illiterate and unemployed. About three fourth of the studied group were dropout of their schools before the completion of the primary level of education. Failure in the school was the most important cause of school dropout.
The I.Q., weight/age, height/age and mean haemoglobin level of working children were significantly lower that that among non working ones. The existence of this problem by a high prevalence as proved showed the urgent need to an integrated program for management of the already present situation and a long-term solution for its limitation in the future.
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