The Development Broadcasting Unit, a development broadcasting arm of the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has underscored the need for parents in the country to embrace Early Childhood Development (ECD) education.
DBU program Manager Joshua Chirwa made the sentiments in Balaka during an interface meeting with the ECD technical working group members in the district.
He lamented that knowledge gaps among the communities on the importance of sending children to community-based childcare centres remain a major setback in terms of children’s enrollment in CBCCs as well as the delivery of ECD education in the country.
In a bid to raise awareness of the importance of ECD education, DBU, with support from UNICEF, has embarked on a K107 million campaign, which will be implemented through community engagement meetings, radio and Television programs, with a core purpose of advocating for improved ECD services in the country.
“We aim to promote the visibility of ECD education and also to ensure that community members are sending their children to CBCCs and also that they are providing support for ECD services,” said Chirwa.
He further emphasized that the campaign will also target ECD stakeholders for improved support towards ECD education.
Speaking in an interview with Malawi24, Nellie Masamba-Maneya, ECD monitoring and evaluation officer in the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, commended DBU for the intervention, saying it will complement in identifying and solving some of the bottlenecks facing the ECD sector in the country.
Research has shown that, among other things, a lack of trained caregivers and a lack of community participation derail the implementation of ECD services in the country.
The campaign will be implemented in three districts Balaka, Mzimba and Nkhotakota.
