A global call to action for early childhood

Strong foundations:
Early childhood care and education
EFA Global Monitoring Report Team, with
Michelle Neuman, special advisor on early childhood care
and education for the 2007 edition
7
Learning begins well before a child
walks through the classroom door
for the first time. The paramount
importance of the child’s early years
is expressed in the first of the six
Education for All (EFA) goals adopted
by 164 countries in Dakar in 2000.
They are years of extreme vulnerability
and tremendous potential, during
which adequate protection, care, and
stimulation are essential to provide the
foundations for the child’s well-being
and development.
The fifth edition of the EFA Global
Monitoring Report, launched in
October 2006, assesses progress
towards the first EFA goal, which
calls on governments to expand
and improve “comprehensive early
childhood care and education,
especially for the most vulnerable
and disadvantaged children”—those
who have the least access to such
opportunities and who stand to benefit
most from them.
Comprehensive programmes refer to
a holistic approach that encompasses
both care and education for children
from birth to age 8. Such programmes
focus on a range of needs, from health
and nutrition to cognitive, social, and
emotional development. Holistic early
childhood programmes have a leading
role to play in any strategy to attain
basic education for all and to reduce
poverty, the overarching objective of
the Millennium Development Goals.
Programmes of good quality improve
health and nutrition, combat HIV/AIDS,
and prepare children for a smooth
transition to primary school.
Commitment to early childhood has
increased in recent years. The 1989 UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child,
now endorsed by 192 nations, is a
unique instrument to protect children’s
rights to survival, development, and
protection. Rapid economic and
social change is increasing the need
BOX 1
for more early childhood policies
and programmes. Access to good
early childhood programmes is not
widespread in developing countries. In
contrast, most children in developed
countries have access to at least
The 2007 EFA Global Monitoring Report was formally launched in New York
on October 26, 2006 in the presence of UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro
Matsuura and UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. Education
ministers from Chile, Ghana, and Jamaica, World Health Organisation
Assistant Director-General Joy Phumaphi, UN Committee on the Rights of
the Child member Lothar Krappmann, and eminent Indian educator Inderjit
Khurana each brought their own voice of support to the urgent cause of
early childhood care and education. In a video message, President Michelle
Bachelet of Chile reiterated her government’s priority to early childhood
protection “because we understand that the first few years are crucial for
development throughout a person’s life.”
Early childhood care and education was a central feature of the United
Nations Girls’ Initiative meeting and the High Level Group on Education
for All in Cairo (November 2006). The report was also presented and
discussed at a press conference with Egypt’s Minister of Education. Since
then, the report has been presented in 37 countries in all regions, very
often involving ministers of education, government officials responsible
for ECCE, NGOs, and bilateral and multilateral representatives. In several
cases, policy workshops have provided opportunities to discuss the report’s
recommendations. In Dakar, representatives from 13 sub-Saharan African
countries (including seven ministers) spent three days discussing ways to
strengthen ECCE policies. In the Mekong region, officials from several
countries called for better training and capacity building for policy makers
and knowledge sharing across the subregion.
Beyond the six UN languages, the report summary has been translated into
a number of others, including Bangla, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Portuguese,
and Vietnamese.
The report is sparking policy discussion of ECCE. In several sub-Saharan
African countries, work is underway with key partners on developing
comprehensive Early Childhood policies. Donors, including Sweden and
Norway, have recognised that Early Childhood should feature more
prominently in their aid policies. Monitoring of EFA goal 1 is featured in
the report released December 5, 2007. Continued advocacy and capacity
building over the long term will be crucial for sustaining and increasing
commitment to quality ECCE.
COORDINATORS’ NOTEBOOK: ISSUE 29