From 20–22 January 2026, countries from West and Central Africa convened in Dakar for the Regional Expert Meeting on Early Childhood Education and Development (ECED) to reaffirm the strategic importance of ECED for equity, human capital development, and regional resilience. With just five years remaining until the 2030 Agenda, participants emphasized that the priority is no longer advocating for ECED, but accelerating concrete action.
Dimitri Sanga, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for West Africa, highlighted the urgency of reversing negative trends in early childhood education and development indicators, stressing that timely interventions are essential to address the developmental needs of children from birth to eight years old. The discussions underscored that young children are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition, stress, insecurity, and unstimulating environments, which can lead to lasting developmental delays if not addressed early.
Participants stressed the need for a holistic approach to ECED, integrating health, nutrition, protection, early learning, and nurturing care. While many countries have policy and strategic frameworks in place, scaling them up remains constrained by insufficient and fragmented financing, a shortage of qualified personnel, weak multisectoral coordination, and incomplete data systems that limit equity, accountability, and result measurement.
The meeting emphasized the importance of practical tools to translate analysis into action. Sophia Ashipala from the African Union highlighted that multisectoral collaboration is central to ensuring no child is left behind. The discussions also recognized the need to integrate resilience into ECED, given that climate shocks, conflicts, and forced displacement disrupt essential services and directly impact child development.
Concrete outcomes from the meeting included a strengthened shared understanding of the systemic determinants of ECED and increased country ownership of the ECCE-PATT tool. This tool helps diagnose bottlenecks, prioritize actions, and track progress. Countries highlighted the need for technical support, decentralization, and translating diagnostics into sequenced, costed action plans to inform evidence-based decision-making.
The meeting set the stage for an operational roadmap leading to the 2026 Regional Ministerial Conference, emphasizing the need for system-level transformation rather than isolated initiatives. Key priorities include institutionalizing ECED coordination, professionalizing personnel, investing in quality learning environments, strengthening data and accountability systems, and integrating resilience as a minimum standard.
In conclusion, the expert meeting called for rapid, structured, and coherent action. Countries were urged to convert diagnostics into prioritized action plans using ECCE-PATT and contribute to a regional synthesis ahead of the Ministerial Conference, with the aim of achieving measurable, funded commitments to expand equitable access to quality early childhood education and development services for the most vulnerable children in West and Central Africa.
