More than 90 percent of a child's brain develops and grows before age six and is primarily influenced by nutrition. Cognitive stimulation during the first five years of life is essential to building a good foundation for success in school.

Despite many approving results — including considerable scientific and economic evidence that supports investment in the early years, remarkable global attention, and improved access to early education services — countries are not investing sufficiently in holistic early childhood programs and systems. In addition to a lack of adequate resources, the support and accountability for early childhood growth programs are generally fragmented across the nation and between the private and public sectors, making for a disorganized effort.
Providing early childhood development programs at scale remains a challenge in many contexts, and the capacity to recruit, keep and support a skilled early childhood workforce is vital to enhancing the quality and access to these services. Unfortunately, financial support for early childhood development needs to be higher in most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. That alone makes it hard to reach all children with positive, nurturing experiences, such as early health and nutrition services, child care, and preschool. And usually, the countless underprivileged are the least served.

Our Approach

At P.H.S., we believe that investing in early childhood development is crucial to creating a brighter future for children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our approach is based on evidence-based research and focuses on developing sustainable solutions that involve collaboration between policymakers, government decision-makers, local change agents, and funders.

We work across three pillars of early childhood development: financing, workforce, and programs. Our financing work involves generating evidence to support investment in early childhood development and examining possible sources to raise funds and make more efficient investments. For example, in Cameroon, we conducted research that identified financial barriers to accessing quality ECD programs and suggested possible solutions to improve financing and expand access.

We also work to sustain the early childhood workforce by coaching the Early Childhood Workforce Initiative in collaboration with international organizations. This initiative aims to provide government decision-makers with the resources they need to support a quality early childhood workforce, and we oversee the expansion of strict analytical work, including a series of landscape studies synthesizing international evidence.

Finally, we engage actively with local change agents in policy creation and sharing of good practices regarding early childhood development. We offer technical workshops for government and policymakers to increase the coordination of E.C.D. service delivery and support early childhood development funders and program managers by identifying what works and how to scale it. We also encourage peer-to-peer, networked learning to promote sustainable and effective solutions.

In summary, at P.H.S., we believe that investing in early childhood development is a critical step toward creating a brighter future for children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our approach focuses on evidence-based research, collaboration, and sustainable solutions across financing, workforce, and program pillars.