Cultivating political will and investment
A meeting with the First Lady, Ministers, Parliamentarians, partners and funders resulted in a commitment to develop a national multisectoral strategy for early childhood development. More.
Ensuring adequate and sustainable financing
A 2021 cost-benefit analysis demonstrated that for each US$ 1 invested in ECD the country would gain US$ 18 by 2050. Investment increased in both nominal and real terms, including a budget allocation increase from 2.3 billion Burundian francs in 2020/2021 to 6.2 billion in 2022/2023.
High-level champion accelerates political commitment for ECD
Thanks to work and commitment from the First Lady, the Crecer Juntos (Growing Together) Policy 2020–2030 forms the national framework for ECD and emphasizes the importance of supporting caregivers to provide nurturing care. The Nacer Con Cariño (Born with Love) law places the caregiver-child relationship at the centre of health services and guarantees the right to a companion of choice during childbirth, skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding from the first hour of birth, and rooming-in.
Leadership in action
Within three years the Ministry of Health, alongside other sectors, developed a multisectoral approach to contextualize and operationalize the nurturing care agenda. More.
Ghana Health Service commits to rolling out the Nurturing Care Framework
Following a national stakeholders’ meeting in 2019, the Ghana Health Service has issued a call to action, calling upon other government agencies, donors, non-governmental actors and the media to significantly increase actions, investments, and attention to ECD.
Scaling up nurturing care in Siaya County
In western Kenya, the Governor is leading the scale-up of policies, programmes and services in support of nurturing care. The First Lady oversees the Smart Start Siaya Campaign which promotes nurturing care through a systems-based approach. Follow the campaign on Twitter: @NurturingCareKE. More.
Advancing multisectoral collaboration
A high-level advocacy meeting elevated attention to early childhood development and resulted in a commitment to finalize the national multisectoral strategy for early childhood development. More.
Harnessing large scale funding
The Ministry of Health Nutrition Department has leveraged funding from the Global Financing Facility and World Bank to integrate early learning and responsive caregiving into the national nutrition package. More.
A whole-of government approach convened by high-level government body
A government body, convened by the Prime Minister, launched the National Strategy for Early Childhood Development (2019-2030) with priority actions starting from pregnancy across eight ministries. The new strategy emphasized whole-of-government approaches and the health sector’s role in promoting young children’s development.
Towards the development of an integrated early childhood development policy and strategy
Leveraging key moments, employing partcipatory approaches to policy development, using evidence to inform decisions, and securing high level committment of leadership have kept ECD high on the Government of Rwanda’s agenda for two decades. More.
Translating policy at subnational levels through local media and civil society
Under the Mtoto Kwanza Project, a network of civil society organizations is being established to support the National Multisectoral ECD Programme, launched in 2021. This is an exciting example of engaging civil society to translate national programming into practice at subnational levels.
‘Global Child Thrive Act’ introduced in U.S. Senate
The Act directs the U.S. administration to advance policies and programmes that advance early childhood development internationally. More.
Think Babies
Think Babies aims to make the potential of every baby a national priority and focuses on five key policy areas: paid leave, child care, Early Head Start, infant and early childhood mental health, family support, and economic security. Think Babies supports partners with advocacy resources and consultation to advance their infant-toddler policy priorities and build the political will necessary to make babies a national priority. More.
Orientation for Members of Parliament
A virtual advocacy meeting for 22 parliamentarians explored the potential roles that lawmakers can play to advance the nurturing care agenda. More.
