UNICEF aids efforts to revamp Early Childhood Development Steering Committee

Dec 04, 2010 News

The collaborative efforts of the Ministries of Health, Education and Human Services along with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) yesterday saw the resuscitation of an Early Childhood Development Steering Committee.
The Committee, which was formulated in 2001, had become defunct since its members last met in 2006, according to Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy. He was the only subject Minister in attendance. The other two Ministers, Shaik Baksh and Priya Manickchand were said to be otherwise engaged.
Yesterday’s meeting, which saw representation from various children-oriented departments within the Ministries and UNICEF, was held at Cara Lodge, Quamina Street, Georgetown.
The revamping of the committee, Minister Ramsammy said yesterday, was premised on the joint concern of the Health Ministry and UNICEF that the non-meeting of the body could serve to create a huge void in terms of the development of children.
“…Instead of trying to find out whose fault it is, the Ministry of Health with assistance from UNICEF is resuscitating the Steering Committee. For me it is a statement that every child is wanted, healthy, educated, safe and loved…That is really what this committee is about.”
“When we invest wisely and adequately in our children and our families then the next generation would pay us back many folds through greater productivity and through responsible citizenship. Indeed the future of society depends on our ability to foster the health and the wellbeing of the next generation,” he noted.
The area of early childhood development requires some additional galvanisation of efforts to push it forward, said UNICEF’s Country Representative for Guyana and Suriname, Dr Suleiman Briamoh.
And the collaborative efforts of the Ministries was deemed as very important by Dr Briamoh who underscored concerns that lately there have been many media reports about educational performance, particularly in the transition from Grade Five to Grade Six and that from primary education into secondary and/or vocational training.
He revealed that it was earlier this year when he participated in the Summit of Heads of States from the Caribbean Sub-Regions in Paramaribo that he made the point that the impact of whatever is done at the school level is bound to be repeated if they (children) are not prepared for the various experiences.
“There is just no way out of it. If you do not prepare children to find the school experience very rewarding and something to look forward to, the chances that you will have some level of not being too satisfied with the results is bound to happen.”
With the revamping of the Committee, Dr Briamoh noted that all of the members have the collective responsibility to join and work towards a successful childhood development situation, which is a major step in the life cycle of any human being.
“For UNICEF it is the core path of the life cycle for the group of people we work with, that is, from 0-18…We need to find a lasting solution on how to move forward,” Dr Briamoh asserted. In this effort he noted that the role of UNICEF is to catalyse, facilitate and to provide the strongest support to the whole process.
And UNICEF, he said, is now in the process of completing a study, which is showing that early childhood development is very important, and if enough attention is not paid to it, in terms of investment at higher levels of development, it will be circumscribed.
“The interesting part of it is that it is avoidable (not to pay attention to it) and the other part of it is that it is good and the other part of it is that it is a good investment to pay attention to. “ Dr Briamoh asserted yesterday. It is expected that there will be regular meetings as the efforts to efficiently address the issue of early childhood development progresses.

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UNICEF aids efforts to revamp Early Childhood Development Steering Committee

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