Research shows that over 90% of a child’s brain develops by the time they reach age five. Nutrition, care, and cognitive stimulation in these early years are critical to building a foundation for a child to survive and thrive and realize their full potential. Building this foundation leads to a healthy and educated society, in which citizens are better able to participate and contribute to the social and economic well being of their communities.

Children who are unable to access the critical support they need to fully develop are placed at a distinct disadvantage, with lifetime lasting impacts to both child and society.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest rate of access to pre-primary education in the world, and by 2020, will be home to an estimated 45% of all malnourished children — where a child is already more than fifteen times more likely to die before reaching the age of five than a child from a high-income region. Lack of political will to implement ECD policies, weak coordination and partnership, limited knowledge and contextual evidence, and a lack of support to ECD programming remain crucial barriers to delivering quality, holistic ECD services to all children in Sub-Saharan Africa.