More than 2.7 million Malawi kids not accessing Early Childhood Development services

More than 2.7 million children aged eight and under in Malawi are not accessing Early Childhood Development (ECD) services, it has been learnt.

Malawi is currently providing ECD services to only 34 per cent of the total number of children through Community Based Childcare Centers (CBCCs).

Early childhood development activists have since urged the government, parents and guardians to ensure that no child is barred from accessing ECD services in Malawi.

“Malawian children are our future and investing in Malawi’s young children is an investment in Malawi’s future. Only 34 per cent of them are accessing ECD services and the remaining bigger percentage also needs to access it. We need to play our rightful roles in ensuring that no child is barred from accessing ECD services in Malawi,” said ECD Project Officer for the Association of Early Childhood Development in Malawi (AECDM), Ruth Makwakwa at Traditional Authority Kanduku’s headquarter in Mwanza.

Makwakwa noted that those accessing ECD services are children residing in urban areas because they have resources to pay for it while children in rural areas are denied their birth right to holistic development.

She said the current scenario is not good for the country’s development.

In trying to improve the situation , Makwakwa said AECDM is implementing a two-year project called ‘Rights from the start: Early Childhood Care and Education for all’ in six districts of Neno, Ntcheu, Mchinji, Nkhatabay Rumphi and in T/A Kanduku’s area in Mwanza,

The project would want to influence government for a five per cent increased financial allocation for children’s care and education, Makwakwa revealed.

In the 2012-2013 National Budget, 0.001 percent of the total budget was allocated to ECD.

Makwakwa, however, commended government for providing the political environment which is conducive for ECD programmes to prevail in the county.

“Government has established a unit responsible for ECD in the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare convening yearly ECD Week which also shows political commitment,” she added.

Assistant District Social Welfare Officer, Aaron Macheka said parents need to take care of their children even after breast feeding period is over.

“Most parents look after their children well when they are between 0 and three years old, but thereafter they stop thinking that the child has fully developed,” he said.

He also appealed to chiefs and religious leaders to help their communities by supporting CBCCs with resources such as land.

Macheka who said the district has over 85 CBCCs and approximately 850 care givers revealed that government this year has provided financial support to the district for constructing one CBCC building.

He then asked the community to make good use of it so that government continues supporting more CBCCs in the district.