PANAMA CITY, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Panama needs 304 million U.S. dollars for child labor eradication programs, Guillermo Dema, sub-region coordinator for the International Labor Organization, said on Thursday.

    At a session of regional education and labor ministers, Dema said he was optimistic the scourge could be eradicated, and that with20 years work, the economy will grow enough to eliminate it.

    Nearly 48,000 children work in Panama, according to a 2000 survey, a nation which has just over 755,000 people between five and 17 years old.

    If children are considered to be under-14, the world working child population is 210 million. If under-17, the figure is 350 million.

    Panama's education minister, Miguel Angel Canizales, said that Panama has a program which helps the youngest to advance.

    The two-day meeting, which has the motto "ending child labor and forging a worthy life for children," ends on Thursday.