Action needed to help Kenyan children get the best start in life says 国产视频 report

Kenya has made progress over the past 15 years in improving access to early years care 国产视频� but more action is needed to ensure every child has the best start in life.聽

Without it, children from the poorest and most marginalised groups will continue to be left behind their peers and unable to fulfil their potential at work and in the community.

A new report from 国产视频 and the Kenyan organisation聽KANCO聽says that by the time a child reaches five years old, 90% of their brain has developed 国产视频撀爓hich means the progression from birth to school is the most important time of our lives.聽

In these early years, the brain forms 700 neural connections per second.

Allan Ragi, Executive Director, KANCO, said: 国产视频淲e need to start with the youngest children, starting right from birth and ensure they receive not only adequate nutrition and health care services but also essential care, pre-primary education, protection聽and mental stimulation.国产视频�

国产视频淎n estimated 38.3% of Kenyan children aged three聽and聽four聽are not reaching their development cognitive and social emotional milestones, which can hold them back from succeeding in school and reaching their full potential.国产视频�

The report 国产视频� Early Childhood Development in Kenya: Giving Every Child聽the Best Start in Life 国产视频� 聽says that poverty, lack of access to services, inadequate resources聽and violence prevent too many families from being able to provide essential support to their children in the first five years.

The report highlights that early interventions provide the best chance to level the playing field and close ability gaps early on, giving each child an equal chance at success 国产视频撀爊o matter who they are or where they are born.

The report 国产视频撀爓hich makes 14 recommendations for action 国产视频� says early childhood development is essential for the health, safety and cognitive development of children under five.

Summary of the findings

Investing in the early years is one of the smartest investments a country can make to break the cycle of poverty, address inequality, and boost productivity later in life.

The recent influential聽Education Commission report聽highlighted that 国产视频渢otal returns on early education are very high聽国产视频撀爄n some cases up to $7 for every $1 spent聽国产视频撀燼nd returns on early nutrition can be many times higher.

The health journal the Lancet calculated the cost of inaction on early childhood development and found that children who do not meet their developmental potential 国产视频渁re likely to forgo about a quarter of average adult income per year, and the cost of inaction to gross domestic product can be double what some countries currently spend on health.国产视频�

Far more resources are urgently needed in every sector to begin to scale up basic services for children and mothers.

All sectors must prioritise developing ECD-specific targets and plans at both the county and national levels and include clear, costed budget line items so that significant increases in financing for early years services can be prioritised and new and additional resources can be accessed.

KANCO is a national membership network of NGOs,聽federal business opportunities, private sector actors聽and learning institutions involved in or that have an interest in HIV/AIDs, TB and other public health care concerns.聽

KANCO implements different programmes聽国产视频� including early聽childhood development聽that seeks to enhance quality early interventions for children.

This report was made possible thanks to the聽generous support from Conrad N Hilton Foundation to support early childhood development for vulnerable children, especially those impacted by HIV/AIDs.