“Government commits to strengthening Early Childhood Development” – Navitcha

Minister of Gender, Children and Social Welfare Mary Navitcha has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening Early Childhood Development (ECD), describing it as critical to raising responsible and productive citizens.

Presenting a Ministerial Statement on Early Childhood Development and Parental Care in Parliament on Thursday, Navitcha acknowledged that Malawi has not invested enough in ECD over the years.

She said the government has allocated K460 million to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare for ECD programmes in the current financial year, but admitted the funding is insufficient.

Navitcha said her ministry is engaging the Ministry of Finance for additional resources while also working with the Ministry of Local Government to secure 10 percent of the K5 billion Constituency Development Fund (CDF) for ECD initiatives.

“If we get K5 million per constituency for ECD issues, including child protection and ECD infrastructure, it will be handled very well,” she said.

The minister expressed optimism that the Ministry of Finance would consider the proposal and stressed the need for clear guidelines to ensure the effective use of CDF resources for ECD.

“If the Ministry of Finance ring-fences 10 percent of the CDF for ECD, every constituency and district will be able to implement programmes according to the guidelines. I am appealing to Members of Parliament, through the Parliamentary Committee on Social Welfare, to support our efforts in lobbying district councils to allocate 10 percent of the fund so that we can adequately care for children aged three to eight years,” Navitcha said.

She emphasized that early childhood is a vital stage of development, particularly for brain growth and overall learning, and called on the country to prioritise investments in young children.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Committee on Social Welfare Chairperson Savel Kafwafwa urged the government to employ ECD workers, noting that public ECD centres are currently run by volunteers.

He said only about 2,000 ECD workers receive honoraria despite an estimated 30,000 to 60,000 people serving in the sector nationwide.

Kafwafwa recalled that government had committed to adding 2,000 ECD workers to the honoraria payroll annually, a move that would have increased the number to nearly 10,000 by now.

“It is high time government started paying these people instead of relying on honoraria because it is affecting the quality of their work,” he said.

He also called on government to recruit and deploy social workers in constituencies to strengthen child protection and improve community social welfare services.

In addition to the statement on Early Childhood Development and parental care, Navitcha also presented a Ministerial Statement on Mental Health.