Democratic Republic of Congo - Support Project for Alternative Welfare of Children and Young People Involved in the Cobalt Supply Chain (PABEA-COBALT)

The Support the Alternative Welfare of Children and Young People Involved in the Cobalt Supply Chain Project (PABEA-COBALT) is designed is order to ensure the social reintegration of about 14,850 children (girls and boys) working in cobalt mines. It covers Lualaba and Haut-Katanga Provinces, which hold more than 65% of global cobalt reserves. The project supports the implementation of the “National Strategy for the Exit of Children from the Copper and Cobalt Ore Production Chain in Haut-Katanga and Lualaba Provinces", of which Thrust 1 focuses on "reducing the economic vulnerability of households by promoting agricultural cooperatives and entrepreneurship". The extreme household poverty being the real cause of this scourge and that improving the living conditions of households is the most effective way of eliminating it, the project will ensure the socio-economic reconversion of the children’s 6,250 parents (all young) to the agricultural sector, which has the greatest potential for economic diversification. It will create 11,250 direct jobs and thousands of indirect job, and will restructure 1,250 youth agricultural cooperatives. The PABEA-COBALT comprises three components, namely: (i) support for the promotion of alternative economic opportunities and improvement of the living conditions of the populations in the project area; (ii) institutional support for the promotion of the responsible supply chain for cobalt ores; and (iii) project management (including implementation of the ESMP).