Early childhood development (ECD) is one of the most cost effective ways to break the inter-generational poverty cycle. Increasing investment in ECD will bring developing countries like Ethiopia high return by enhancing human capital and accelerating economic and social development. Generally, child development refers to the order of emergence of interdependent skills of sensory-motor, cognitive, language, and emotional functioning. Early childhood is a special and crucial period during which the brain develops.
Physical, mental and lifelong health and well being are also formed during childhood. Recently, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Ministries of Women and Children Affairs, Education and Labor and Social Affairs organized a discussion forum under the theme “A joint National Sensitization Workshop on Early Childhood Development.
” The workshop brings together key stakeholders in the country that are working to address the barriers to childhood development in the early years. It also aims at sensitizing higher officials on the importance and relevance of early childhood development and revitalizing the multi-sectoral collaboration towards the implementation of ECD. Dr. Liya Tadese, state minister ministry of health on the occasion said building cross sectoral collaboration on ECD is essential for building productive human capital for the country. “ECD is not a stand-alone program.
Building on existing structures, service platforms and expanding interventions that promote nurturing care is a costReminiscence of Ethiopia in medieval India effective way to promote health, learning, productivity and wellbeing,” she said adding “it is also the building block for future human capital formation and reducing the effects of adversities on young children.” The family will be taken as the first line of response and should be supported to provide adequate and holistic care for the survival, care and development of their children.
According to Dr. Teshome Desta, who presented his research on EDC, the human brain develops faster between conception and age 3 than at any other time in life. Young children’s healthy development depends on nurturing care defined as care which ensures health, nutrition, hygiene and sanitation, responsive care giving, safety and security, and early learning.
Children’s development up to 8 years of age is also considered as the foundation of health, learning, productivity and wellbeing. Various research results also show that, during the first few years of life, the brain is sensitive to the environment, both good and bad. In this period, the brain is most vulnerable to the risks of malnutrition, toxins, and stress.
Children who do not receive nurturing care tend to have reduced growth, cognitive functioning, language and psychological outcomes as well as executive functioning, which leads to higher to lowered academic achievement in primary school and ultimately dropping out of school. In the long term, it lowers economic productivity, causes health problems, and leads to higher crime, finally resulting in inter-generational consequences.
Children in low and middle income countries face many adversities which, together affect their health, wellbeing, and learning through their life. Approximately 43 percent of all children under the age of five in low and middle income countries are at risk of not reaching their development potential due to chronic malnutrition, poverty, and disadvantage which threaten their nurturing care.
Indeed, in Ethiopia, 38 percent of children under the age of five suffer from stunting due to poor ECD care. Alemitu Omod, Child Cluster State Minister at the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth said that children in Ethiopia are not able to get the attention they deserve as kids. Hence it is imperative to alert stakeholders to work collaboratively on this issue.
On the occasion, various stakeholders including UNICEF, World Health Organization, USAID, World Bank, and other development partners discussed the issue with Ethiopian authorities regarding how to go about to improve ECD in Ethiopia and reaffirmed their commitment for the cause.
Karen Hezlem, Chief Child Protection at UNICEF said ECD is critical to advance every Ethiopian child’s right to survival, development and protection. “What we invest on the child’s early-development determines the future of the country’s investment in a cost effective manner.” It was also stated during the discussion that investing one dollar today on early child will profit thirteen dollars tomorrow. Since we are not investing on early childhood by the time, we see many children at risk now.
Herald December 27/2018
BY ESSEYE MENGSTE
