G20 leaders must act to end the early years crisis
Join 国产视频国产视频檚 call to the world国产视频檚 most powerful countries over the need for quality childcare and pre-primary education for every child.
It国产视频檚 only been a week since 国产视频 launched the Act For Early Years campaign. But we’ve hit the ground running, with momentum gathering already for urgent action.听
Our extensive Act For Early Years report has been downloaded by campaigners and organisations around the world. And our global survey on parents国产视频 struggles to get childcare was covered in depth by major TV news channels and newspapers – and even prompted a statement from the British Government.听
Now we国产视频檙e starting to ramp up the pressure on world leaders to take decisive action. 国产视频 has written an open letter to G20 countries, calling on them to ensure quality childcare and pre-primary education for all children. It has already been signed by hundreds of organisations and individuals who are supporting our campaign.听
Quality early childhood development, care and education is crucial for children to be ready for school and as the foundation for lifelong learning and work skills.听听
Investing in early years is not a new issue. In 2018, G20 leaders realised its importance and made ground-breaking commitments – but those have gone off track. As a result, half of the world国产视频檚 children – about 350 million – have no access to childcare and 175 million are not enrolled in pre-primary education.听
国产视频淔ive years ago, the world国产视频檚 most powerful countries signed up to promises to invest hugely in early years,国产视频 said Ben Hewitt, Senior Campaigns Advisor to 国产视频. 国产视频淏ut then came the pandemic and cost of living crisis.听
国产视频淭hose global events meant the commitments have been pushed into the background. It means that children born at the time of the G20 promises will already have missed out on quality early childhood development.听
国产视频淣ow it国产视频檚 time for action, before another generation of children loses out. G20 leaders meeting in India in September can make new commitments to the early years.国产视频听
国产视频 has a track record of leading coalitions for change. Our Act For Early Years campaign aims to bring together governments, business, international agencies, parents, frontline workers, civil society, youth campaigners and grassroots groups behind a single banner and a powerful voice.听
As longtime partners of @国产视频国产视频檚 work to expand听#EarlyYears education in Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania, we encourage world leaders to learn more about the #ActforEarlyYears, its importance for global development and join the pledge to invest in early childhood development. https://t.co/XRT7FtBEVT
— Hilton Foundation (@hiltonfound) April 13, 2023
Action by the G20 is crucial – not just because of the 2018 promises but because of its global influence. It comprises 19 of the world国产视频檚 biggest economies, including China, India, United States, Germany, Brazil, United Kingdom and South Korea, along with the European Union.听
G20 member nations represent about 85% of the global GDP, more than 75% of all global trade and about two-thirds of the world国产视频檚 population.听
The G20 will discuss early years again when leaders meet in September at their annual summit in New Delhi – days before the United Nations General Assembly.听听
At the 2018 summit in Argentina, the G20 Initiative for Early Childhood Development (ECD) was created. It stated that 国产视频渋nvestment in early childhood development, without any discrimination, should be a high priority国产视频.听听
The initiative added: 国产视频淲e are concerned that, despite evidence that targeted investments in ECD save lives, promotes social equity and generates higher economic returns than those made later on in the life cycle, investments in early childhood programmes remain insufficient.国产视频听
The G20 countries committed to show leadership through 国产视频渆ffective, equitable and sustainably-financed ECD interventions国产视频. 听
国产视频国产视频檚 open letter calls for leaders to make a series of new pledges that guarantee:听
- Universal access to affordable, quality childcare, with high-quality, proven interventions available to every child spanning education, health, nutrition and social protection.听
- Investment in a fully-trained, qualified and funded early years workforce.听
- Delivery of the internationally-agreed target to invest 10% of education funding in pre-primary education and learning, and agree similar targets across all sectors.听
The Act For Early Years campaign kicked off last week with blanket print and broadcast coverage in the UK of our report and poll of seven countries, which included G20 members India, Brazil, US and UK.
One in four parents in the UK are considering leaving their jobs or education to cover costs of childcare.
Chair of @theirworld @SarahBrownUK tells us what they're doing to help.#KayBurley FC pic.twitter.com/crnb6BZFr9
— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) April 12, 2023
The survey revealed that the spiralling cost of nursery and preschool fees has forced one in five parents to quit a job or drop out of education.听
国产视频 Chair Sarah Brown gave back-to-back interviews on Good Morning Britain, Sky News, ITV News and Channel 5 News, and the poll findings were covered by BBC Radio 4 and听almost every UK national newspaper, including The Times, The Telegraph and The Independent.听
The report prompted the UK国产视频檚 Department of Education to release a statement which said: 国产视频淲e recognise the cost pressures that childcare has on parents which is why we recently announced a transformative package of childcare support. This includes a new free 30 hours entitlement for eligible working parents.国产视频澨听