NEWS: Aga Khan University urges Policy Makers to invest in Early Childhood Development
March 9, 2022 | 7:56 pm
Group photo during the Policy Makers Workshop for Kenyan FCDC health & education County Directors. ©Aga Khan University Photo/Maureen Ooko By Maureen Ooko, Communications Officer, Aga Khan University Institute for Human Development.
The Aga Khan University’s Institute for Human Development, (AKU-IHD), held a policy makers workshop for health and education county directors of various counties constituting the Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC) consortium’ in Kenya.
The workshop is one of the courses under AKU-IHD’s ECD workforce hub which intends to advance the well-being of children and families.
Developed in 2018 by AKU-IHD with funding from Hilton Foundation and Aga Khan Foundation, the workshop intends to support policy makers to deepen their understanding of the science supporting early childhood development (SECD) and realise the importance of investing in young children and families through their policies and budgets.
The workshop also seeks to forge a collaborative partnership between AKU-IHD, the 10 counties which form the FCDC consortium, and the Sustainable Development Goals Partnership Platform (SDG PP).
Speaking during the event, Global Early Childhood Development (ECD) technical advisor and the workshop facilitator Najma Rashid explained the positive multiplier effect that comes about when countries invest in ECD.
Global Early Childhood Development (ECD) technical advisor and the workshop facilitator Najma Rashid. ©Aga Khan University Photo/Maureen Ooko
“ECD is a critical investment because it has a multiplier effect. When you invest in the early years that is from conception to 8 years, you build a very strong foundation for the next generation who are going to be productive assets for their countries. The strong foundation also helps countries save in the long run as they don’t have to incur extra health-related expenses for their children or expenses due to repetition in school.”
Ms. Rashid also noted that for ECD to thrive, an enabling environment was needed and as a result she urged the directors to prioritise ECD in their development agenda.
Lamu County Director of Medical Service Dr. Abubakar Baasba concurred with Ms. Rashid noting that most focus towards proper child development should be channelled during the early stages of the child’s growth as this is the critical period for brain development in children.
Lamu County Director of Medical Service Dr. Abubakar Baasba addressing the audience. ©Aga Khan University Photo/Maureen Ooko
Dr. Baasba also reinforced the need for the government to invest in ECD and shared his plan on achieving the same for his county.
“I have learnt very many lessons in this session. It goes without doubt that there is need for the county government and the government of Kenya in general to invest a lot in ECD. This is a wakeup call for all of us in leadership to deliberate on the various ways in which we can partner so that ultimately, we have a better generation in the future. The first step that we need to make as a county is to form a collaboration between ourselves (the department of health) and the ECD department so that we can have a joint effort towards ECD. This will be the initial move as we gear towards policy formulation, creation of a Bill, and bringing together stakeholders including community members who will come in and assist in Child development.”
Garissa County Director of Health Mr. Mohamed Salat Dagane in his remarks stated that he attended the workshop with the objective of gaining insights on the integration between the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry of Education in matters ECD. He was happy to note that from the workshop he had learnt on the various ways that he would be able to foster this integration in his county.
“I have learnt that for us to develop, we need to integrate the work of MOH and the ECD department. We need to have more meetings with the ECD county directors and various stakeholders at the county level to develop appropriate action plans towards the promotion of ECD. We can also use structures already set in place at the county level such as the Community Health Volunteers to promote ECD in our county.”
Speaking on the importance of partnership to promote ECD; Mr. Arif Neky, Senior Advisor, SDG PP said that partnerships were very critical due to their ability to help us gain insights on how things work on the ground as we move forward. He remarked that these insights then enabled us to ensure that there was full integration of all the thematic areas around the ECD initiatives.
Mr. Arif Neky, Senior Advisor, Sustainable Development Goals Partnership Platform (SDG PP). ©Aga Khan University Photo/Maureen Ooko
The Policy Makers Workshop is also vital in achieving AKU-IHD’s goal of ensuring sustainability towards the gains made in promoting ECD in the county levels and ultimately in the country and region. Dr. Anil Khamis, AKU-IHD Faculty Research Professor expounded further on this aspect in his remarks on the importance of the workshop to AKU-IHD.
Dr. Anil noted that the Policy Makers Workshop is integral in three aspects: to raise awareness of the importance of ECD at the policy makers level, to help us understand how we can implement our ECD learnings at the community level and lastly, to co-develop knowledge with communities that allows us to be more effective to serve the community needs.
Dr. Anil Khamis, Aga Khan University Institute for Human Development (AKU-IHD) Faculty Research Professor addressing the audience. ©Aga Khan University Photo/Maureen Ooko
“Policy makers are passionate in communal development at the whole level of the state. As such, the more we are able to raise community awareness through policy makers on the importance of ECD the better the returns. Secondly, we know what have to do but we don’t know how to do it. This is teaching us from a practical point of view on how we can work with context and communities. Lastly, we are able to co-create and develop knowledge with the communities. These aspects, put together allows ownership at the level of the Policy Makers at the county level and more importantly with ownership we build sustainability.”