MONROVIA – World Bank Country Director Georgia Wallen says investments are also critical for women, who are typically the primary caregivers within their homes.
Across the world and in Liberia, she said, access to services enables women to seek decent employment, earn more, and pursue high-quality jobs and education.
Speaking at Stakeholder Dialogue on Liberia Early Childhood Care and Education Assessment & Economic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women (EPAG) Program, Madam Wallen asserted that well-designed investments in early childhood development and education can create ripple effects.
According to her, investing in early investments can improve health, education and social cohesion, and lay the foundations for a prosperous society moving forward by bolstering human capital.
“Yet, opportunities for early childhood development and education are unevenly spread, with only 35 percent of children in developing countries benefitting from them, compared to 89 percent of children in developed countries,” she said.
The World Bank official recalled that the first is a study which examines the market for ECCE services in rural areas and identifies appropriate childcare models that can be leveraged in existing projects, such as LWEP, as well as forthcoming initiatives that support women’s empowerment.
The second, she said, is an evaluation of the EPAG training program, a homegrown model for enhancing country capacity for service delivery which is critically relevant for Liberia.
“This agenda has great relevance for the GoL’s ongoing investments in women and families to advance Liberia’s economic prosperity, including through the Liberia Women’s Empowerment Project (LWEP), which aims to unlock opportunities and improve the enabling environment for women’s economic and social empowerment,” Madam Wallen also noted.
She thanked stakeholders joining the discussions on Early Childhood Care and Education, where they presented findings and recommendations from two important pieces of work that explore the intersection between early childhood development and women’s empowerment in Liberia.
For many years the Government of Liberia, the World Bank, and key stakeholders have worked together to advance national priorities for early childhood development and education. This event illustrates how coordination and collaboration can change lives, she said further, adding: “Lives of children, lives of women, and communities. This event also offers a glimpse into what is possible ahead for the early learning, childcare, and skills development landscape in Liberia.”
She said the aim of the discussion was to gain valuable feedback from the Government and other stakeholders on these two pieces of work, the ultimate focus being on using this research to inform decision-making, implementation, action.
Wallen said the Liberian government’s ARREST agenda aspires to a “giant leap in human capital development” to improve education, health, skills training and empowerment, and social protection, with an emphasis on equitable access for women and girls, persons with disabilities and vulnerable members of society.
“High-quality research will play a role in delivering these important and ambitious objectives,” he stressed, and added that the World Bank was looking forward to finalizing both pieces in line with stakeholders’ comments and feedback, particularly on the findings and recommendations.
“We also hope to develop, with your input and cooperation, a costed roadmap on how these recommendations can be implemented by the Government and its development partners moving forward. We will be hearing more on this follow up activity in the discussion ahead,” she also said, thanking participants for expertise, and inputs to what he described as a critical agenda.
“I also want to acknowledge the leadership and coordination of the World Bank Social Development and Education teams to make this work and today possible with the generous support of the Early Learning Partnership and Invest in Childcare Initiative,” Madam Wallen further said.
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