Imagine a world where every child is loved, nourished, and protected—where they are read to, and encouraged to be curious. In this world, children don't just learn well, but they thrive, and so does the entire country. Nobel Prize Winner for Economic Sciences, James Heckman said: "Early childhood development is the most powerful investment in human capital that a country can make."  This is because early childhood development lays the foundation for a lifetime of success. But countries require synergy and accelerated delivery of services to ensure every child’s development needs are met, especially when poverty and inequality are high. 

In South Africa, essential services for young children are scattered across various state departments. They lack effective synergy and accelerated delivery. We are not the first country to recognise that collaboration and coordination are hurdles to overcome. In their effort to promote early childhood development and break cycles of poverty, a number of countries have established autonomous agencies specifically designed to manage key functions of early childhood development. Others have integrated ECD service delivery under a single government ministry. There are pros and cons to any approach.

In this podcast, we ask the question: What are other countries doing to put children first and what can South Africa learn from them? We speak to Kentse Radebe (Innovation Director in the All children on track by Grade 4 portfolio and incoming Deputy CEO) , Senzo Hlophe (Director of Partnerships & Impact) and Shazly Savahl (Department of Psychology at the University of the Western Cape and Board Member of the International Society for Child Indicators).