ECD Landscape
The first 1,000 days in a child’s life hold the key to unlocking their life-long potential.
By the age of 5, almost 90% of a child’s brain will be developed.
There are close to 8, 2 million children aged 0–6 in South Africa.
There are only about 79 950 registered ECD centres.
Only 800 000 are in registered ECD centres.
Government explicitly recognizes the importance of Early Childhood Development (ECD).
There is a national policy aimed at creating compliant and registered ECD centres.
All ECD centres had to be at least partially compliant by the end of 2019 and this unrealistic deadline has already past.
80% of ECD Centres are not compliant and therefore not registered 5 200 000 children are compromised and not in a position to succeed. They are vulnerable, hungry, exposed to sinister elements and many are orphaned.
Against this backdrop we are now in a Covid 19 pandemic that may threaten the lives of parents and caregivers and create an even more fragile environment for small unattended and vulnerable children. Compliant and registered ECD centres are a controlled hub of safety and stimulation for our children who are otherwise exposed to sinister elements, trafficking, crime, hunger, illness and extreme vulnerability.