Government is in advanced plans of reviewing the National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy (NIECD), to create more time for women and girls, and in turn promote their economic development.
This was disclosed by Dr. Angela Nakafeero, the Commissioner Women Affairs at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MoGLSD), during the Symposium on Women’s Economic Empowerment and Women Groups in Uganda, that was held at the School of Gender Studies at Makerere University on Friday.
First launched in 2016, the NIECD policy is one of the key policies aimed at promoting the rise of children, the aspect of caring for the babies immediately after birth, to the point when they are able togo to school and participate in the process of learning.
President Museveni, who was represented by the former Second Deputy Prime Minister, the Late Kirunda Kivejinja, during the launch on September 15, 20015, called for “a massive up-front investment in integrated ECD services from the Government, Private Sector, and Development partners” and urged all to capitalize on the Government’s imminent transition towards Programme Based Budgeting (PBB) and fully integrate comprehensive ECD in the new national budget architecture, in orderto realize the aims of the policy.
The existing gaps, Dr. Nakafero however said calls for a review, which she said is intended to enable critical thinking on the best options in terms of provision of child care.
“Its an important policy to all of us especially for families and particularly for women and girls,” she tol reporters at the sidelines of the event.
“We know that after families, schools are supposed to come in however in that context, nursery schools and day care schools entirely facilitated by familes and this means that families that are not well of being missed out on child care development,” she added
Child care, she reiterated should conducted in respect to all children development without discrimination to enable all children grow and thrive.
Dr. Nakafero noted that the review in the policy will help in reducing unpaid care work, “because once we have institutions and facilities for looking at children, mothers and girls will have more time to participate in productive activities.
According to the existing statistics, women are spending more than 8 hours on unpaid care work.
“It has a lot of implication on Women’s economic empowerment, family development, and national development. So by creating more time for women and girls to participate in development activities, that alone contributes to national development,” she noted.
The one day Symposium was organised with a main purpose of increasing awareness on the need to build evidence and a community of practice on women economic empowerment and women groups in Uganda.
It also aimed at enhancing the awareness of the importance of fostering WEE and using innovative solutions to improve the evidence base and increase information storage and uptake
Dr. Nakafero advised women to invest in real estate like land, work hard and stop thinking that men will give them everything.
Assoc. Prof. Sarah Ssali, the Dean of School of Women and Gender Studies at Makerere University also calledupon women to take on risks and invest in businesses in order to be self reliance.
Edton Babu, the Programme Director CARE International noted that women have potential of creating their own wealth, if they decide and choose to do so.
