MOWAC reviews Early Childhood Care Policy

Published in the Daily Graphic on 22/12/2009, pg 11

Story: Matilda Attram
THE Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOW AC) in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) has organised a one-day orientation workshop on early childhood development to give an overview of the implementation of the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Policy.
The workshop was also to promote other sector related plans and strategies established for the improvement of early childhood care in the country, and update district committee members of ECCD and the public on the progresses made in the implementation of the policy.
The workshop was also expected to generate new strategies that would improve on the implementation of the ECCD Policy.
The ECCD Policy is a document that sets out the vision and mission of early childhood care and development as the foundation of Ghana’s human resource development for her future .
It was initiated five years ago to promote and protect the survival, growth , development, and protection of all Ghanaian children. The implementation of the policy was done by MOWAC, acting as the co-ordinator, in partnership with the GES, the Ghana Health Service, the Department of Social Welfare, the Birth and Death Registry among other stakeholders.
In a presentation, the National Co-ordinator of the Early Childhood Development of MOWAC, Mrs Ruth Addison, stated that MOWAC and the Childhood Development Secretariat had put in place strategies such as the establishment of ECCD committee teams in the 10 regions of the country to improve on childhood care development in the country.
She said the organisations with support from their partners had also been organising programmes like conferences, workshops, study tours and seminars to help build the capacity of care takers at the ECCD centres in the country.
Mrs Addison mentioned the lack of budgetary allocations, inadequate training for care takers, difficulties in the implementation of laws and policies, overlapping roles and responsibilities of other sectors and the MOWAC and lack of comprehensive communication strategies as some of the challenges face by the ECCD organisations in the country.
“ We need a strong political will, commitment and good network for advocacy to effectively disseminate our duties. And we must involve our communities in the implementation process”, she stated.
In a welcome address, the Greater Accra Regional Director of the Department of Children, Mr Peter Akyea, noted that through the ECCD Policy an educational curriculum have been developed by the Ghana Education Service for kindergarten one and two children to guide teaching at that level.
He called on parents and stakeholders to recognise the need to contribute to the welfare of children in the country.