Children's lives and fundamental rights face serious threats due to conflicts, frequent droughts, floods and migration in some parts of Somalia, which is trying to regain its footing after the civil war.
Lack of education, sexual abuse, underage marriage and child labor top the list of challenges faced by Somali children.
AA correspondent talked to child workers between the ages of 10 and 15 working in jobs such as car washing, laundry, maids, restaurants and private businesses on the streets of the capital Mogadishu on "12 June World Day Against Child Labour".
11-year-old Mohammed Sayid Ali, who had to work as a shoe shiner, said that he got up at 07:00 every day and spent the whole day wandering around the main street of Taleh, one of the busiest Mogadishu districts.
Saying that he earns about 1 dollar a day, Ali said, "I have 5 siblings, I am the eldest. I come to this bazaar every day at 08:00 and return home after evening prayers."
Ali said that his dream is to go to school one day like the others.
Fuad Abdi Muhammad, a 13-year-old car mechanic, stated that working as a child is sometimes dangerous and that he has difficulty in protecting his money.
"I have been doing this job for 1 year, I started working after I lost my father, I used to go to school. I dropped out when I was in 4th grade, sometimes older kids try to get my money, I got hurt a few times while defending myself," Muhammad said.
Worldwide, 160 million children (63 million girls and 97 million boys) still engage in child labor. While this figure corresponds to 1 in 10 children worldwide, the number of child workers is increasing in underdeveloped countries.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest rate of child labor at 26 percent, while in Latin America and the Caribbean, 7 percent of children work in potentially harmful work.
More than 1 in 4 children aged 5 to 17 in least developed countries work in jobs considered harmful to their health and development.
According to the report published by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 2021, Africa, where one in five children (92 million) works as child labor, ranks at the top in child labor.