By Erick Nyayiera
County governments in Kenya have been asked to prioritize on nurture and care for children under five years to enable them reach their full developmental potential before joining pre-school at four years of age.
According to Early Childhood Development (ECD) National Network National Coordinator Dr. Teresa Mwoma, globally, over 250 million children under age five are at risk of not reaching their full developmental potential due to lack of proper nurture and care.
Speaking during the opening of the 4th National ECD Stakeholder’s Conference at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) in Siaya County, Dr. Mwoma called for a change on ECD policy at both national and county governments’ levels in order to prioritize care for the children at their formative ages.
“Life begins at conception and this is where nurture and care should start. Our ECD policy should be revised to address the plight of the baby from when it is in the womb so that their brains can fully develop,” Mwoma stated.
Mwoma disclosed that the conference themed: ‘Responsive care giving to children in diverse circumstances through innovation and inclusivity’ is aimed at addressing the plight of children in vulnerable areas like prisons, refugee camps, informal settlements who are least likely to get nurture and care at their tender age.
“Children conceived and raised in these vulnerable circumstances are more likely not to realize their full developmental potential because they are likely to lack proper nutrition, healthcare, safety and protection as well as stimulation of their brains through play which ultimately affect their brain development,” the ECD Network coordinator explained.
She therefore called on government, political leadership and all relevant stakeholders to endeavor in raising the profile of ECD nurture and care in Kenya by making it a priority agenda.
Dr. Mwoma challenged both the county and national governments to establish child playing stations at work places where mothers can accompany their children and breastfeed them while at work to enhance their chances of achieving 92 percent brain development by four years when they are required to join pre-school.
The Kenyatta University lecturer called upon institutions of higher learning in the country to undertake more research on the area of child development in order to generate data that could be used in decision making to improve nurture and care for the children in the country
JOOUST VC chancellor Prof. Stephen Agong’ who hosted the event reiterated that ECD is still a fertile ground that needs more research to find solutions to childcare.
“More research is needed on the area of early identification of disability in children which may hamper their ability to learn. Most parents and even teachers fail to identify certain covert disabilities hence a lot of time is wasted before solutions can be found” Prof Agong said.
Agong’ disclosed that the number of students admitted to undertake EDC course at JOOUST has been rising annually and this year the institution had the highest admission in ECD programs.
The Vice Chancellor urged the government to put more premiums on children especially at their tender age to rip maximum benefit just like it is done in developed countries.
“If you don’t put great premium on children then we will gradually loose the entire society. Putting great premium on children is a game changer and has a huge impact not only on the children but the society as well” said Agong.
The occasion was graced by Siaya County First Lady Rosella Rassanga together with other county first ladies from Nyamira, Bomet, Bungoma and Kisumu who have been at the forefront in championing for ECD nurture and care in their respective counties.
Mrs. Rasanga who is the patron of ‘Smart Start program’ whose activities were integrated in the health function in Siaya County through a County Assembly Act in May this year, has been a pioneer of ECD nurture and care in the region.
The Smart Start program which has been successfully implemented in Siaya County since 2018 has been considered for implementation by other counties within the Lake Region Economic Block (LREB) as was revealed by the LREB head of Education who represented the block C.E.O. Mr. Abala Wanga at the conference.
UNICEF country representative Ms. Maniza Zaman who joined the conference virtually underscored the importance of supporting care giving initiatives for children under three years.
Maniza disclosed that at that tender age, about 1 million neurons are formed each day on the child’s brain and it is both a time for great potential and a great vulnerability for the child.
“This is the make or break age for children if they have good nutrition, care and stimulation, the child attains full developmental potential while on the contrary if they lack the same the child is likely to struggle learning in school because their brains did not fully develop” Maniza explained.
She called on all stakeholders including the county governments to invest in nutrition, healthcare and safety of the children for them to reach their full potential.
The UNICEF representative revealed that through a recently released report dubbed “Threat to Fail”, two thirds of children under age 5 in Sub-Saharan Africa are malnourished while 25% of children of the same age in Kenya have stunted growth due to poor nutrition.
She echoed sentiments of the ECD network national coordinator by calling for update and revision of ECD policy in the country to consider starting from age zero rather than age 4 when the child is expected to joins Pre School.
During the occasion, the ECD Network for Kenya launched the 2021-2025 strategic plan which was presided over by Siaya County Deputy Governor Dr. James Okumbe.
Dr. Okumbe expressed the commitment of the county government on issues of ECD nurture and care saying Siaya County Government was determined to scale up nurture and care for the young children in the county by increasing sensitization among parents and installing indoor and outdoor playing stations in hospitals and ECD education centers.
