National Policy on Early Childhood Development for Malawi

The Policy on Early Childhood Development (ECD) in Malawi has been developed in response to the plight of the Malawian children who live and grow up in high risk environments, plagued by HIV/AIDs, poverty, ignorance, malnutrition and high rates of communicable diseases. This situation renders Malawian children vulnerable to poor health and/or pre-mature death. Malawian children experience multiple problems of social adjustment because of their difficult start in life.

Although efforts on ECD in Malawi have been made in the past by Government and its co-operating partners to improve the situation, these efforts have been fragmented and, therefore, without much impact. The Government, has therefore, decided to come up with an explicit ECD policy that would provide clear guidance to all co-operating partners on how best to prepare a future generation for Malawi.

This policy aims at, among other things, promoting care and attention to the child, more especially during the first eight years, which are critical for human development; providing co-ordination and collaboration structure for Early Childhood Development Programmes in Malawi; enhancing household and community awareness about the importance of early child- care, protection and development practices; promoting co-operation between Government, co-operating partners, the private sector, communities and households in the management and implementation of Early Childhood Development activities and programmes; and facilitating the implementation of the Rights of the Child as stipulated in the Conventions on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which Malawi is a signatory. The policy further calls for a holistic approach to childcare, by integrating all development concerns into the existing operational systems.

Empowering local communities in the management of Early Childhood Development programmes, participation and involvement of the Private Sector and Non-Governmental Organizations, will be of paramount importance in all aspects of planning and management of the ECD resources. This will not only instill a sense of ownership but also joint accountability by all stakeholders.
Considering also the diversity of the needs of the child, it will be necessary to prioritize interventions to ensure that the most strategic issues are given top priority and allocated adequate resources.

This policy underscores the importance of investing in children as an investment in human capital which is necessary for sustainable development. I, therefore, urge all stakeholders to take the policy very seriously and accord it the respect and honour it deserves.