Advancing advocacy through national early childhood development networks

Abstract

While much has been done to address the situation of
children around the world, much more needs to be done to
ensure that the rights of all children are protected and that they
are able to live up to their full potential. More needs to be done
specifically to address the low funding and resource allocation to
Early Childhood Development (ECD), slow implementation of
polices, limited access to services particularly by the poor and
vulnerable, variability in the quality of services as well as the lack
of coordination amongst service providers in different sectors. As
more country early childhood development networks emerge, it
is important to look at the role advocacy networks play in
ensuring that children are supported through holistic efforts that
meet their health, nutrition, educational and cognitive
developmental needs. This paper takes a case study approach
looking at the impact of Advocacy Networks and the role played
by the Zimbabwe Network of Early Childhood Development
Actors in addressing early childhood development policy gaps and
membership challenges in Zimbabwe.