Time-bound programmes (TBP)



  • identify and reach out to children at special risk; and
  • take account of the special situation of girls.





Why focus on the worst forms?



Legal instruments





TBPs have several important characteristics. A TBP:
  • must be initiated and led by the country in terms of planning, implementation and resource mobilization;
  • must be comprehensive and fully integrated into national development plans;
  • involves the extensive participation of many stakeholders, including policy-makers, practitioners, workers’ and employers’ associations, and donors;
  • needs to be flexible enough to adapt to the specific circumstances of the country; and
  • must be underpinned by extensive data collection and analysis.


El Salvador, Nepal, and the United Republic of Tanzania were the first three countries to implement TBPs. Three other countries, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and the Philippines, started implementation during 2002-03. Several additional countries have since begun the process, including: Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Ecuador, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mongolia, Pakistan, Senegal, South Africa, Turkey, and Yemen. The experience acquired from the design and implementation of these programmes has helped to refine the TBP concept, for example in terms of content, emphases and relationships with ongoing interventions in areas such as macro-economic policy, poverty reduction and education. More...