Act for Early Years

Menu

ACT NOW

Momentum grows as more world leaders Act For Early Years

Stephen Morgan, the UK’s Minister for Early Education, with his signed copy of the Act For Early Years ‘Minifesto’ (Theirworld/Simon Wagner)

Across the world, a growing number of leaders are stepping up for the youngest children and pledging to Act For Early Years.

From Brazil and South Africa to Ukraine and the Philippines, there’s an increasing global momentum to invest in early childhood as governments grasp the importance of giving children the best start in life, with access to quality childcare and pre-primary education.

The bold and innovative Act For Early Years campaign – launched by Theirworld and partners in 2023 – has expanded rapidly into a movement of more than 150 early childhood organisations in many countries. Theirworld’s network of Global Youth Ambassadors are also amplifying the voices of young children at national and local levels.

The campaign aims to mobilise $1 billion in new pledges for the early years and is calling for the first-ever international finance summit on early childhood, where commitments can be made by world leaders.

That’s crucial because more than half of all young children – a staggering 350 million – do not have the access they need to childcare and at least 175 million are not enrolled in preschool programmes. Yet the first five years are when 90% of brain growth happens. The evidence is clear that investing properly in the under-fives will dramatically boost their development, education and opportunity to fulfil their potential.

Ben Hewitt, global lead for the Act For Early Years campaign, said: “From every corner of the globe, hundreds of organisations and networks are uniting to put the early years at the top of the world’s agenda – and the momentum is unstoppable. This is people power in action. As world leaders shape the future, we will not rest until every one of them makes a bold pledge for the world’s youngest children.”

The Act For Early Years campaign was launched in 2023. Since then we have seen a major breakthrough during the G20 summit in Brazil when a new Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty was launched in Rio de Janeiro, with a strong focus on early childhood, and major financial commitments to the early years.

Brazil followed that up earlier this month with the launch of a bold and visionary plan to support the wellbeing and development of the country’s youngest children. The new National Integrated Policy for Early Childhood will transform the lives of millions of children and strengthen Brazil’s role as a global leader in tackling inequality from the start of life.

South African government minister Siviwe Gwarube (centre) and Ben Hewitt of the Act For Early Years campaign with the ‘Minifesto’

In the past few months, many other nations have made significant investment in the early years – announcing lifechanging policies that will save millions of lives. They include:

  • South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa promised to put the early years “front and centre” of the education agenda – followed by the announcement of $500 million specifically for early childhood development.
  • The Philippines’ national budget for 2025 includes major investments in early childhood care and development, including 328 child development centres in low-income areas.
  • Jordan is expanding access to childcare by rolling out its first national childcare policy for low-income families.
  • The government of Ukraine and an alliance of more than 20 partners – including Theirworld, UNICEF and the World Bank – have pledged to implement a series of measures to put the early years at the centre of the country’s rebuilding efforts.

The Act For Early Years campaign has also attracted significant high-profile champions, such as tennis legend and early childhood advocate Roger Federer, children’s content creator Ms Rachel and the First Ladies of several countries, including Leticia Ocampos, First Lady of Paraguay. She received an Act For Early Years award last year for her commitment to the world’s youngest children.

Over the next few weeks, Act For Early Years will ramp up the pressure on leaders who will be gathering in New York for this year’s UN General Assembly. In the run-up to, and during the events in September, we will demand bold investment from governments.

To reinforce the call, we’ll take the Act For Early Years ‘Minifesto’ to the global summits. Small in size but bold in ambition, this document demands urgent action to give all children access to quality healthcare, childcare and pre-primary education.

The ‘Minifesto’ was signed recently by Stephen Morgan, the United Kingdom’s Minister for Early Education. That came after the United Kingdom government pledged to focus on giving every child the best start in life by putting investment in childcare and early childhood education at the heart of its Plan for Change. The ‘Minifesto’ has also been signed by Siviwe Gwarube, Minister of Basic Education of South Africa.