ECD Policy Development and Implementation in Africa

ECD policies are influenced by the contexts in which they develop. Those contexts include historical, cultural, social, economic and diverse conceptual dimensions operating at international, regional, country and local levels. These forces impact on policy development as well as on policy implementation. This article briefly situates ECD policy directions in global and regional contexts before exploring dynamics that are operational at African country levels as seen through the eyes and activities of ECDVU participants. Four of the five participants are employed by a national government, one is with an NGO. Each project explores a different facet of policy development and implementation; collectively they speak to the complexity inherent within policy work. Early childhood care, education and development (ECD) is a topic whose time has arrived, both around the world and in Africa. That "arrival" has been driven by a number of factors, many of which are international in scope, but the particular ways in which ECD moves forward varies from region to region and country to country. This article will provide: 1) a brief initial context regarding international development activities that have supported greater attention to ECD policy development for children from birth through school entry age; and 2) an overview of key ECD events and activities in Africa; before 3) focusing more specifically on work undertaken by a number of the ECDVU participants in various African countries that represents particular aspects of policy development and implementation in those countries.