Children Believe, an international NGO, and its partners have called for urgent increased investment in Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) following the launch of the national ECCD Policy, 2025.
This was contained in a statement issued by Children Believe and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale on Friday.
The policy was launched by the government in Accra on Thursday through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) in collaboration with its partners, including Children Believe and UNICEF. It provides a renewed national framework aimed at improving the well-being of children, especially those from marginalised communities, from birth to eight years.
The policy seeks to promote holistic child development and address inequities in access to essential services, particularly for vulnerable children, including those living with disabilities and their caregivers.
The statement quoted Madam Esenam Kavi De Souza, Country Director of Children Believe Ghana, as speaking during the launch and describing it as a national call to prioritise investment in ECCD.
“Today’s launch is a national call to prioritize investment in ECCD,” Madam De Souza was quoted as saying, urging effective collaboration among agencies operating within the ECCD sector.
She appealed to government to make adequate resources available to the MoGCSP to ensure effective coordination and implementation of the policy.
“It is a great joy to see the process that began a couple of years ago become a reality. Once again, the policy we launched today will only be meaningful if the needed resources are committed to its implementation,” she said.
The ECCD Policy, 2025 recognises that optimal child development extends beyond direct services to children and includes support for pregnant women, women of child-bearing age, caregivers and communities.
It is structured around six key domains: health, nutrition, early learning, safety and security, responsive caregiving, and inclusion.
The statement said over the years, Children Believe and its national partners had championed the “Starting Right” principle through Early Childhood Development programmes and a Centre of Excellence initiative aimed at strengthening ECCD systems in the country.
It noted that the launch of the new policy marked a bold step towards ensuring that every child in the country has the opportunity to survive, thrive, learn and reach their full potential.
Children Believe gave assurance of its commitment to supporting the implementation of the policy to ensure that all children, especially the most vulnerable, benefit from nurturing, protective and inclusive services.
