2017 National Policy for Early Childhood Development (NPECD).

The 2017 National Policy for Early Childhood Development (NPECD) is developed and concretized based on the six principles: Human Rights (ECD helps attainment of human rights as well as children‘s rights); Social Equity (ECD helps to easily reach and target the underprivileged and excluded children); Social Mobilization ( ECD is the most effective strategy for mobilizing parents and communities for socio-economic development); International Goals (ECD is a very effective and efficient strategy for achieving household, community, national, regional and global goals); Scientific Rationale (ECD is the core period for human brain development as it is rapid and profound in the first years of life); and Economic Benefits (investment in the first eight years last for life and break intergeneration cycle of poverty of a family unit and the whole nation).
The objectives of the National ECD Policy are to: a) enhance provision of quality child care, survival, growth, stimulation and early learning services; b) strengthen leadership, management, coordination and capacity building for ECD workers; c) promote child rights; d) provide parenting education and support; e) strengthen research, monitoring and evaluation; and f) enhance resource mobilization and leveraging.
Priority Area 1: Child Care, Survival, Growth and Stimulation. The policy will ensure that: 1) Care for survival, growth and development for all children is provided, including those in difficult situations; 2) Children are provided with nutritious food, safe water, sanitation facilities, immunization, growth monitoring services, and adequate play and stimulation materials; 3)Children with special needs are identified early, assessed, supported and referred for professional treatment; 4) A functional ECD legal and institutional framework developed for effective and efficient implementation, coordination and monitoring of ECD activities; 5) ECD research, monitoring and resource mobilization enhanced for quality and equitable ECD services. Priority Area 2 Parenting Education and Support. The policy will ensure that: 1) The family is strengthened to effectively provide holistic growth and development services for survival, growth and development for all children; 2) Early childhood care and stimulation for learning and development programmes for children from conception to two years are promoted through parenting education and support ; 3) Positive cultural practices and indigenous child care practices are identified and promoted. Priority Area 3: ECD Centre Based Services. The policy will ensure that: 1) All children access quality and regulated center-based services with trained, committed, certified, remunerated workers and with ECD professional development system; 2) All center-based services have quality and appropriate, child and disability friendly infrastructure and facilities; 4) All ECD centers have safe and portable water and sanitary facilities; among others. Priority Area 4: ECD Transition Services. Priority Area 5: Child Rights Protection Services. The policy will ensure that: 1) Children are protected from all forms of abuse, neglect, and exploitation; 2) Parents, caregivers and service providers adhere to the relevant laws that protect children, report and support cases of child abuse; 3) Adequate professional personnel, financial and materials resources are deployed in the field;4) Lobby for more funds allocated for ECD activities in the national budgets, by development partners and the private sector to ensure adequate implementation of children’s rights.