The government of Madagascar strengthens its commitment to early childhood

Novotel Antananarivo, 11 December 2020: Improving the delivery of health, nutrition, education, and social protection services for young children and families in Madagascar. This is the major focus of today's high-level advocacy event.

"We are all convinced that we can change the reality of the children for the future of Madagascar,", explains Mr. PILAZA Tsakorien Jaona Adolphe, Director General of the Population Department at the Ministry of Population, Social Protection and Promotion of Women.

"This workshop is already a first step in opening up ways for hope to the Early Childhood Development (ECD) left behind in Madagascar. Advancing ECD in Madagascar would not only enable children to survive and thrive but also improve human capital and promote economic growth, which in turn would eliminate extreme poverty in the future," says Mr. Jean Benoit Manhes, UNICEF Madagascar Deputy Representative, in his speech.

Indeed, due to the lack of adequate data, a national strategy but above all a lack of investment, Madagascar is facing a significant backlog compared to other countries, and the trends remain worrying about early childhood development.

According to the Human Capital Index established by the World Bank, a child born in Madagascar today will only reach 37% of the productive potential that he or she would have had if he or she had received a full education and adequate health care. Besides, the year 2019 identifies additional threats to early childhood development in Madagascar with 86% of children born in poverty. Globally, with a rate as high as 42%, Madagascar is the fourth country with the highest rate of stunting among children under five. Furthermore, being underfunded, the social protection system in Madagascar only affects 5% of the extremely poor. According to the results of the household surveys (MICS), only one in four children aged 2 to 4 has a family member who stimulates and supports early learning. Only 15% of children aged 3-4 years participate in an early childhood education program.

Investing in early childhood is key to accelerating the achievement of a child's full potential. As defined by WHO, ECD refers to the cognitive, physical, language, motor, social and emotional development of children from conception to age 8. Economic studies have shown that investment in ECD generates high returns: every dollar invested in ECD yields a return of $17.

Raising awareness among government members about the importance of early childhood development, promoting exchanges, and popularising good practices are the objectives of this high-level advocacy workshop organized in collaboration with the United Nations, WHO, UNICEF, and the World Bank, with the participation of the various ministries concerned such as the Ministry of Population, Social Protection and Promotion of Women, the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Justice, and the National Office of Nutrition. A reorientation of the different national policies and strategies to emphasize the importance of ECD in the country is expected as a result of this workshop.

After today's high-level advocacy with the participation of the Prime Minister’s office and the various ministries concerned, it is expected that the different policies will be reoriented and the national strategy will be finalized to emphasize the importance of early childhood development in the country.