MBSSE And Partner to Construct 29 Early Childhood Development Centres in Two Districts

The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education MBSSE with support from the United Nation Children’s Fund UNICEF will be constructing twenty nine Early Childhood Development Centres in Karene and Moyamba Districts.

According to Mr. Emmanuel Alie, the National Coordinator Global Partnership for Education, 20 0f these centres will be constructed in Karene and the remaining 9 in Moyamba District.
He said evaluation and assessment of bids is in progress by UNICEF which is the grant agent.

He when further to state that last year in September, the ministry completed the construction of 30 new Early Childhood Centres in three districts Bombali, Pujehun, and Kambia) in Sierra Leone which according to him open doors to an estimated 2,100 children that benefitted.

The ECD landscape in Sierra Leone has been fraught with challenges and poor outcomes, as Sierra Leone has one of the highest maternal, new born and under five mortality rates, stunting, high rates of poverty, and poor learning outcomes globally.

The government’s commitment to human capital development, enables the country to achieve middle income status by 2035; it is necessary for governments to prioritize investment in ECD. The development of a clear policy framework to provide directions and guidance for structuring equitable access to quality ECD cannot be overemphasise.

The national Integrated Early Childhood Development (IECD) policy provides an overarching framework with shared vision, mission, goals, and objectives for the delivery of holistic ECD interventions and services for all children ages 0 to 8 years; and ensures that all Sierra Leonean children have the best start in life and are able to achieve their full potential.

Early Childhood Development is about the overall wellbeing and welfare of a child as it encompasses the child’s cognitive, language, social, emotional, and motor development. Early Childhood Development (ECD) is recognized as a critical foundation for fostering positive lifelong outcomes, human capital development and sustainable national development.