‘Investing in children key for a better Malawi

Malawi Government has pledged to allocate more resources towards Early Childhood Development (ECD) activities, noting that investment in children is the ‘building block’ for a better Malawi.

Secretary for Gender, Children and Social Welfare Mary Shawa said this on Monday when she launched the 2013 national ECD awareness week at Chimwemwe Community Based Child Care Centre at Pinji Village in Traditional Authority Kaphuka (T/A) in Dedza.

The launch was supported by World Vision, Unicef, Save the Children and ActionAid, among others.

“I believe that the greatest investment that a country can make is the investment it makes in its children,” said Shawa.

Quoting recent research findings, Shawa said a one dollar investment in children saves up to seven dollars of national income later in life.

“The current government of Joyce Banda put children at heart and therefore included ECD in the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy II,” she said.

This is the second year that Malawi has observed the ECD week.

Last year, similar activities were conducted in Blantyre.