Dhaka, Nov. 24 -- Even as global prosperity has increased in many places, its fruits have not been shared equally.

Among the most troubling indicators of this imbalance is child labor, both a symptom of poverty and a cause of its persistence.

The latest reports from the International Labor Organization (ILO) and UNICEF show that approximately 138 million children are engaged in child labor worldwide.

More than 54 million of them perform hazardous work threatening their health, development or future opportunities.

Since 2000, the number of child laborers has fallen by over 100 million, a welcome reversal amid earlier declines stalling. Yet the progress is fragile.

Between 2016 and 2020, child labor surged in many regions; the downward...