Towards Integrated

Early Childhood Development

Service Delivery in Namibia
A Framework for Action

2017 - 2022

REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA
 For more information contact:

Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare

Directorate: Community and Early Childhood Development

Private Bag 13359, Windhoek, Namibia

Juvenis Building Independence Avenue

Telephone: +264-61-2833111

Fax: +264-61-238941 / 221304

Email: genderequality@mgecw.gov.na

A digital version of this document is available on:

http://www.mgecw.gov.na/; http://www.moe.gov.na/; www.mhss.gov.na/

Design & Layout: Jo Rogge

Printed by John Meinert Printing, 2017

REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA
Towards Integrated
Early Childhood Development
Service Delivery in Namibia
A Framework for Action

2017 - 2022

REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA
 Contents
List of Abbreviations ii
1. Introduction 1
2. Background and Rationale 5
2.1 Definition 5
2.2 Policy Framework 5
2.3 Rationale 9
3. Situational Analysis 10
3.1 Maternal and Child Health 12
3.2 Social Protection 13
3.3 Nutrition 14
3.4 Nurturing Family Environment and Parenting Support 14
3.5 Stimulation for Early Learning 14
3.6 Governance and Financing 16
4. Framework for IECD 17
5. Goal, Components and Purpose of the Framework 19
5.1 National Indicators 20
6. Monitoring and Evaluation 21
6.1 Approach and Purpose 21
6.2 Principles 21
6.3 Steps for Implementing, Producing and Disseminating M&E 22
6.4 Supervision and Data Quality 22
6.5 Research Agenda 23
7. Early Childhood Investment, Costing and Financing 25
7.1 Financing IECD: Public Resources 25
7.2 Considerations for IECD Investment 28
7.2.1 Financing IECD - Sources of Funds and Allocation Mechanisms 29
7.3 Costing 30
7.4 Recommendations for the Namibian Context 31
8. Activities to be Undertaken for the Implementation of IECD 32

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action i

 Abbreviations
ART Anti-retroviral Treatment
DHS Demographic and Health Survey
ECD Early Childhood Development
EMIS Education Management Information System
EPI Expanded Programme on Immunisation
ETSIP Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme
GRN Government of the Republic of Namibia
IECD Integrated Early Childhood Development
IMCI Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (programme)
IYCF Infant and Young Child Feeding
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
MDG Millennium Development Goals
MGECW Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare
MHAI Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration
MoEAC Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture
MoHSS Ministry of Health and Social Services
MoPE Ministry of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare
NAC National Agenda for Children
NECD NGO National Early Childhood Development NGO Association
NGO Non-governmental Organisation
NIED National Institute for Educational Development
NDP4 Fourth National Development Plan
NQA Namibia Qualifications Authority
NTA Namibia Training Authority
N$ Namibian Dollar
OVC Orphans and (other) vulnerable children
PMTCT Prevention of mother-to-child transmission
PQA Programmes and Quality Assurance (in the MoEAC)
TBD To be Determined
UN United Nations
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

ii IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

 1.Introduction
Building a strong foundation for healthy development during the early years of
life is an important prerequisite for lifelong well-being, successful communities,
economic productivity, and harmonious civil societies. Stated simply, a
promising future belongs to those nations that invest wisely in their youngest
citizens. Increasing evidence indicates that the lifelong burden of early
disadvantages can be difficult to reverse, whereas a good start helps children
develop capacities to cope successfully and contribute to the socio- economic
development of the society in which they live.

(PEDIATRICS Volume 129, Number 2, February 2012 Jack P. Shonkoff, MD, Linda Richter, PhD, Jacques van

der Gaag, PhD, and Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, MB, BS, PhD)

The response to the persistent poverty and inequality that impedes the development of
Namibia’s development goals post-independence, must begin with addressing holistic early
child development. Putting the integrated delivery of early childhood development services in a
comprehensive manner that looks at health and nutrition, protection and child welfare, and early
learning services will yield a tremendous return on Government investment in the long run and
should be placed at the centre of Governments future development plans.

The increasing sophistication of science and technology has provided evidence that
demonstrates the importance of pregnancy and the first two years of life (together constituting
1000 days) in laying down the foundations for health, skill development and affectionate human
relationships across the life course and even into the next generation. This first “1000 days”
of human life set the foundation for future health, social and intellectual outcomes – laying
down patterns of response that become entrenched as virtuous cycles of health and capability
or vicious cycles of vulnerability. According to Grantham-McGregor S et al. (2007)1, negative
experiences during the early years increase the risk for poor social and health outcomes: low
educational attainment, economic dependency, increased violence and crime, alcohol and drug
abuse, poor mental health, and a greater risk of adult-onset non-communicable diseases, such
as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. These disadvantaged children are likely to do
poorly in school and subsequently have low incomes, high fertility, and provide poor care for
their children, thus contributing to the intergenerational transmission of poverty (Developmental
potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries (Grantham-McGregor S et al.
(2007)).

According to UNICEF and WHO2, there is consistent and strong evidence which shows that:

• Brain development is most rapid in the early years of life. When the quality of stimulation,
support and nurturance is deficient, child development is seriously affected.

1
Sally Grantham-McGregor, Yin Bun Cheung, Santiago Cueto, Paul Glewwe, Linda Richter, Barbara
Strupp, and the International Child Development Steering Group. Developmental potential in the first 5
years for children in developing countries. Lancet (2007) 369:60-70).
2
UNICEF/WHO (2012), Care for Child Development: Improving the Care of Young Children, Geneva

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 1

 • The effects of early disadvantage on children can be reduced. Early interventions
for disadvantaged children lead to improvements in children’s survival, health,
growth, and cognitive and social development.

• Children who receive assistance in their early years achieve more success at
school. As adults they have higher employment and earnings, better health,
and lower levels of welfare dependence and crime rates than those who do not
have these early opportunities

This framework provides guidance and a recommended action plan to the

Government of the Republic of Namibia and national partners involved in the
provision of integrated early childhood development (IECD) services to help them
implement a comprehensive integrated multi-sectoral response to early childhood
development. The graph below provides a summary of why it is important to start
early in providing integrated services for child development. This is the time when
the brain develops most rapidly and the neural connections are formed that are
the foundation of a child’s physical and mental health and lifelong health and well-
being.3

Graph 1: Timeline for Human Brain Development of various functions

It is evident that following a well-coordinated multi-sectoral life-cycle approach is

essential in giving children the best start in life. Service delivery can no longer take
place in silos. Therefore this framework sets out clear guidelines towards integrated
early childhood development service delivery for Government. Current evidence is
clear: experiences in early childhood, from birth to eight years, help determine an
individual’s capacity to cope with stress, learning and social integration, influencing
later adult health, wellbeing and productivity.

Poor nutrition, stress, exposure to violence, disease including HIV, and alcohol
during pregnancy and infancy impact negatively on an infant’s brain development
and should be prevented. Children from impoverished families or households,
3
Grantham-McGregor S et al. (2007), Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing
countries. Lancet 369:60-70

2 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

in poor health with low nutritional status, and exposed to stress, violence or
illness will require substantial early interventions to reach their full potential.
These interventions are largely in place through existing government services –
such as ante-natal clinics, social assistance grants, birth registration, subsidies
to educarers at ECD centres, and pre-school classes in Ministry of Education,
Arts and Culture (MoEAC). The service delivery however remains fragmented
and uncoordinated. The table below provides a summary of some key known
developmental risks in early childhood development:4

Table 1: Developmental risks in early childhood development

Biological risks Contextual risks

• Intrauterine growth retardation, • Inadequate opportunities for
low birth weight, preterm birth exploration and learning in the
• Sub-optimal breastfeeding home
practices • Maternal depression and ill health
• Malaria • Insensitive or non-responsive
• Protein calorie malnutrition caregiving
• Iodine deficiency • Parental use of harsh physical
• Iron deficiency punishment
• Exposure to environmental lead • Exposure to violence including
• Exposure to other environmental child maltreatment, intimate
toxins (arsenic, mercury, partner violence and community
pesticides) violence
• Parasitic infections • High levels of parental stress
• Chronic diarrhoea • Crowded or highly chaotic home
• Childhood HIV infection environments
• Parental/guardian alcohol and
substance abuse
• Poor quality early care
environments outside the home
• Being orphaned
• Refugee status
• Lack of services
• Societal stigmatization of children
with developmental disabilities

As a country, Namibia has 24% of children under five who are stunted and thus
already at risk of poor development. In addition 34% of our children are living in
poverty, and we have 45,000 children under five who have been exposed to the
HIV virus. Research indicates that women as well as men abuse alcohol, even
during pregnancy, which is seriously detrimental to a child’s brain development.
Responsive parenting in the best African tradition and good nutrition at an early
age while the brain is still ‘plastic’ can overcome many disadvantages.

What is now required is sufficient investment in improving the coordination,

quality and reach of current services and adding some key complimentary
4
EWEC technical content work stream working group on early child development,
23/03/2015. Effective interventions and strategies for improving Early Child Development

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 3

 services such as home visits for at risk mothers and children, nutrition support
for children in day care and ECD centres, and a nationwide public campaign on
the importance of nutrition and health during pregnancy and the first two years
of a child’s life.

• The services must be of sufficient quality and frequency to make a difference.

• The services must be made more accessible to those who need them most,
so that the government’s current and future major investments in health,
education and workforce development may bear fruit over the next five
years.

Without early investment, the returns on future government spending will be

limited, as seen in Grade 10 and 12 results over the last couple of years. With
early investments, international studies have shown a decrease in drop-out rates,
a decrease in sexual partners, and increases in earnings of up to twenty-five
percent. This places Integrated early childhood development as a cost-effective,
rights based response and high return investment for Governments.

4 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

2. Background and Rationale
2.1 Definition

Integrated early childhood development (IECD) views all aspects of children’s development
holistically including a child’s cognitive, social, emotional and physical development. Early
childhood development can be positively or negatively influenced by environmental or biological
factors. Healthy development in the child’s early years of life serve as a strong foundation for
lifelong learning, productivity and good health, while inclusive early childhood development
promotes appreciation for diversity and social inclusivity.

The term ‘early childhood development’ refers to the process of change through which a young
child (0-8 years old) comes to master more complex levels of moving, thinking, feeling and
interacting with people and objects in the environment. For children to develop, their basic
physical need for protection, food and health must be met, along with their psychosocial need
for affection, interaction and stimulation, and learning through exploration and discovery.

Well-coordinated comprehensive and integrated services are likely to be more effective, cost
efficient and sustainable, than individually packaged services, thus improving access to services
to pregnant women and families with young children.

2.2 Legislative and Policy Framework

Integrated Early Childhood Development (IECD) in Namibia is guided by the National Integrated
Early Childhood Development Policy of 2007. The IECD Policy defines ECD as a set of integrated
interventions aimed at holistic care, development and protection of the child. According to the
Policy, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare (MGECW) leads initiatives for children
from 0-4 years old. Services for the 5-8 year olds, including one year of pre-primary education,
as well as training and curriculum development are under the auspices of the Ministry of
Education, Arts and Culture (MoEAC). The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) is
responsible for all aspects related to health and nutrition, including establishing standards for
the monitoring of health, nutrition, growth, immunisation, sanitation and hygiene among young
children in ECD facilities and home-based care settings.

The National Conference on Education of 2011 deliberated on the importance of early childhood
development. The Conference recommended that “the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child
Welfare and the (then) Ministry of Education work out a joint plan for the execution of these
recommendations in collaboration with other stakeholders to ensure better coordination
management and development of ECD.”5

Despite the joint policy efforts between the different Ministries, further attention needs to be
given to the topic of IECD. Henceforth, the Ministries decided to work on an integrated IECD
Framework to further coordinate the joint efforts and different responsibilities and eventually
strengthen the inter-ministerial cooperation. This also includes a greater financial commitment
by the different Ministries. As stated in the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP4: 2012/13
to 2016/17).6 “The formalization of ECD hinges on the investment of public funds to enforce the
necessary legislative and regulatory framework and institutional capacity.”

General Reader, on the National Conference on Education, June 27-July 1, 2011: 2011, p. 46.
5

Fourth National Development Plan (NDP42012/13 to 2016/17), Office of the President, National Planning
6

Commission.

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 5

 The Namibia Child Survival Strategy 2014 - 2018 aims to contribute to the
accelerated reduction of under-5 morbidity and mortality. The general objective is
to increase and sustain the delivery of high impact and cost effective maternal,
newborn and child health and nutrition interventions. The specific objectives
include, inter alia, improvements in accessing good quality essential health and
nutrition care by mothers and children at all levels of the health care system. The
Integrated Management of Newborn and Childhood Illnesses (IMNCI) will be the
main strategy for the appropriate management of childhood diseases within the
health facilities. The Health Extension Workers programme will be strengthened to
be able to manage some of the common childhood conditions at the community
level as part of the national strategy to provide more equitable services to the
population in hard to reach areas.

The National Policy for School Health (May 2008) of the Ministry of Health and
Social Services (MoHSS) describes the role of the lead Ministry in providing school
health services which includes immunization against childhood diseases, screening
for early identification of health problems, treatment of minor ailments and referrals.
Mainly clinic nurses, in partnerships with medical rehabilitation officers, provide
these services. Inspection of school premises is done to identify any health hazards,
and health education is provided based on the findings from the school inspection.
The NDP 4 states that one great challenge associated with education is the fact
that it is a long-term investment, with results seen over a long time, starting already
with ECD: “The challenges relating to the quality of education start with the limited
access to early childhood development (EDC) services”, (NDP4, 2012, p. 46).

Education requires continued outlay in both money and time and, thus, remains a
public and private cost that is unlikely to disappear or dissipate over time. Therefore,

6 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

it is crucial to ensure that Namibia achieves the intended returns on these investments, so
that this expenditure requirement remains manageable and its yields positive. The NDP 4
states that returns on investments will be improved when Namibia starts to invest seriously
in the early childhood development sector and it recommends the transition of leadership and
governance of IECD from the MGECW to the MoE (AC). “In order to better integrate ECD with
other aspects of education, it is recommended that the responsibility of ECD is transferred from
the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare to the Ministry of Education”, (NDP4, 2012, p.
50). Transition, however, has not happened as per the NDP recommendations because it is too
premature to focus on that considering that the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture is still
developing the pre-primary phase. Rather, the critical Ministries are now focusing on strengthen
inter-ministerial and multi-sectoral coordination in order to strengthen the implementation of an
integrated approach to ECD.

Support to IECD can address employment, poverty and social cohesion in line with the NDP4,
which identifies four key strategies for improving IECD in order to contribute to educational
excellence:

1) Provision of 100 free government run strategically located ECD centres;

2) Increased provision of and support for ECD teacher training;
3) Increased ministerial capacity to implement and support ECD centres;
4) Transfer responsibility for IECD from MGECW to MoE (AC).

The 5th National Development Plan (NDP5) 2017 - 2021, has highlighted access to IECD and
pre-primary education as a national priority. In addition, the Strategic Plan of the Ministry of
Education Arts and Culture, 2017 - 2021, has noted that “not all children currently have access
to pre-primary education” and has committed to increase the percentage of children that have
access to one year of pre-primary education from 38 percent in 2017 to 80 percent by 2021.
In addition, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare Strategic Plan 2017 - 2022
has identified a challenge with regards to the inadequate specialized personnel in ECD and has
highlighted in its Strategic Objective 4 to improve care and protection for children’s well-being
and to increase access and improve quality of ECD services.

The newly enacted Child Care and Protection Act of 2015 states that the minister responsible
for education must administer all matters relating to activities at early childhood development
centres and that such centres must be registered; must meet certain standards; and must be
regularly supervised. The Act also specifies members of staff at an ECD facility7 are mandated
by law to provide information obtained during the course of official duties that gives rise to a
suspicion that a child is or may be in need of protective services to a state social worker or
a member of the police. This includes information on children suspected to be neglected or
physically abused, children at risk of psychological or sexual abuse, children growing up without
a suitable educarer or in extremely overcrowded or highly unsanitary promises. Persons failing
to comply with this mandatory reporting requirement commit an offence and are liable to
conviction.

7
Provision 132 of the CCP Act specifies “members of staff at a […] facility registered under Chapter 5”
are mandated to report information on a child who may be in need of protective services. Facilities listed
in Chapter 5 include ECD centers.

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 7

 The recently approved National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP) 2015 - 2019
has seven focus areas: Health, Education, Housing, Land, Water & Sanitation,
Justice, and Discrimination. Many of these areas are linked to unemployment
and poverty, both of which were identified as major issues by the 2012 Baseline
Study with many involving specific issues facing the so-called vulnerable or
marginalized groups in Namibia – in particular women, children, indigenous
peoples (IPs), people with disabilities (PWDs), people living with HIV/AIDS,
sexual minorities, elderly people, prisoners and detained persons, refugees,
migrant workers and asylum seekers.

Many of the interventions will positively impact on the welfare of young children.
In the health, education and child protection and systems where there are some
planned interventions of particular importance for young children.

Improve interpersonal and communication skills of health professionals,

including dealing with children, IPs, sexual minorities and PWDs
Expand maternal healthcare services and facilities (e.g. emergency obstetrics
and neonatal care) with trained staff in rural areas
Initiate a campaign targeting parents on child health and nutrition, hygiene
and sanitation, and sexual health
Develop accreditation standards and a uniform curriculum for pre-primary
education and IECD
Implement measures to facilitate the accommodation of IECD under the
MoEAC
Prioritize the training of teachers for ECD and PPE.
Accelerate the rolling out of Grade 0 (pre-primary grade) to all schools,
especially those in rural areas
Formally analyse and assess the regional disparities for IECD and PPE
throughout Namibia.
Assess the effectiveness of existing child development programmes for
children with special needs and implement measures that will ensure early
detection of impairments (e.g. for hearing, sight, speech) and support
interventions
Building of safe houses for women and children who are victims of domestic
violence
Strengthen Namibia’s efforts to fulfil its obligations under CEDAW by
introducing specific measures aimed at eliminating violence against women
and children

The implementation of expanded, integrated comprehensive ECD services will

contribute to NDP5, subsequent NDPs and ultimately Vision 2030’s objective
“to promote and support quality, sustainable, holistic, Integrated Early Childhood
Development for children aged 0-6 years and to develop capacity of care-givers
(educarers) to improve quality.”

Addressing integrated ECD will also help address Namibia’s performance

towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly bringing down
the under-5 mortality rate, currently at 54 per 1000 live births (2013) and child

8 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

malnutrition, currently 24% (2013). The high levels of Grade 1 repetition, currently at 18.6%, are
a clear indication of the need for more, and better IECD and increasing access to early childhood
services for children with disabilities.8

Resolution A/RES/70/1, on “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development”, adopted on 25 September 2015, highlights that the SDGs, are a road map for
creating a better future, recognize the link between early childhood development and equity,
productivity, wealth creation and sustainable growth and a more peaceful future. The SDGs
have clear targets on malnutrition, child mortality, early learning and violence, which points to
the importance of developing an agenda for early childhood development. The SDGs present
an opportunity for Namibia to strengthen its programmes to help more children to survive and
thrive into responsible adults.

2.3 Rationale

Recent studies have shown that quality early childhood development (ECD) interventions - those
targeting children from birth to age eight are among the most cost-effective approaches for
improving outcomes for vulnerable and at-risk children. Social and economic research confirms
that investments to improve human capacity, welfare and health are more cost-effective
when delivered during the early years. Early childhood is a time of unparalleled growth and
development. It is during a child’s first few years that the neural connections that shape physical,
social, cognitive, and emotional competence develop most rapidly. High quality interventions
at this stage can have lasting impacts, while opportunities missed at this stage are costly to
provide later in life. Early childhood development is also the time when a child’s disabilities
can be identified and early interventions made in order to avoid further problems. Investments
in quality early childhood development can thus provide huge economic returns. There is
strong evidence that the rates of return from investing in quality early childhood development
programmes is higher than rates of return on services provided later in life.

Education Management Information System (2012), Ministry of Education, Namibia

8

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 9

 3. Situational Analysis
The scope of IECD is not well understood, with many people focusing on
kindergartens or centre-based services. IECD goes beyond the provision of early
learning and stimulation through ECD centres and addresses all aspects on a
child’s holistic development. Building a national understanding and consensus
around the importance of IECD and the diversity of quality responses available
is an important aspect of the framework.

To provide the reader with an overview of Namibia’s performance in the

domain of IECD, listed below are selected child-focused indicators that reflect
a range of IECD components, which have been gathered from a collection of
published documents and reports. These indicators served as a basis for the later
derived national IECD indicators, which can be found in the table opposite.

10 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

Table 2: Key Indicators
IECD
Key Indicators National9 Key Interventions
Component
Immunization 83% Institute IECD messages and
1. Maternal and care into health extension
child health PMTCT Coverage 90% workers’ duties, clinics and health
services messages into ECD facilities
Under 5 mortality 54/1000
Continue the expansion and
Child grants 152,992 streamlining of civil registration
and social grants according to
Birth certificates issued in first year Child Care and Protection Act;
2. Social Protection 59% improve old age pensions
of life

Subsidize quality day-care for

Child poverty 34%
vulnerable families
Provide feeding at clinics and ECD
Stunting 24%
centres
Exclusive breastfeeding (under age 6
49% Improved nutrition information to
months
3. Nutrition parents and children, including on
Access to safe water (improved weaning;
86.9%
source)
Improved WASH in homes and
Open defecation (no facility) 46.3% facilities
Support protective parenting
and family support programmes
Children under 18 who are orphaned 15.7%
through a variety of delivery
options: home-visits; community
centres; media and social
Women having experienced mobilization campaigns;
4. Nurturing family emotional, sexual and/or physical 28% specialised protection services,
environment and violence in the past 12 months10 e.g. Gender Based Violence
parenting support protection Units (GBVPU)

Training of community service

Parents justifying hitting their child providers on detection and
78%
when it is disobedient11 reporting of children at risk and in
need of protection

13% of Invest government funds for

% of children attending ECD program 0-4 year-olds quality comprehensive IECD
(Census) programmes in poor communities;

Facilitate access to IECD services

# of children with disabilities for children with disabilities
5. Stimulation for
early learning Support to IECD providers on
# of children attending GRN pre- disability related issues
17,572
primary Continued expansion by MoEAC
of classrooms

Grade 1 repeats 20% Additional support and training of

grade 1 teachers

Fragmented system: Limited budget Establish high profile institutional

6. Governance and 5-8 year olds with MoE, 0 - 4 with for IECD within home for IECD in government
Financing MGECW, nutrition and parenting MGECW and
with MoHSS MoHSS Establish multi-sectoral oversight
9
DHS 2013; Census 2011; NHIES; EMIS 2012;
10
DHR 2013. Proxy indicator for violence against children
11
Seeking Safety: Domestic Violence in Namibia and the Combating of Domestic Violence Act 4 of 2003,
LAC 2012

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 11

 3.1 Maternal and Child Health

The 2013 NDHS data shows an improvement in the neonatal, infant, under-five
mortality rates and maternal mortality ratio. The decline in mortality rate brings
back the country to the 2000 level. In 2013, Under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) was
55/1000 live births while the Infant mortality rate (IMR) was 39/1000 live births,
the Neonatal mortality rate (NMR) was 20/1000 live births and the maternal
mortality ratio (MMR) was 358/100,000 live births.

The main causes of under-five mortality are due to a few preventable and treatable
conditions that include neonatal conditions, diarrhea, pneumonia, malnutrition,
and HIV/AIDS. Malaria, once a major killer, has been effectively controlled and
the transmission of HIV from the mother to the child has reduced. Measles
keeps cropping up despite national and sub-national immunization campaigns.

Primary Health Care in Namibia supports outreach activities that include

immunization, antenatal care (ANC), growth monitoring, HIV/AIDS prevention/
care and provision of some basic treatments for pain at designated outreach
points many of which are health facilities. A new cadre, Community Health
Workers, has been created and have been trained on maternal, newborn and
child health, first aid, HIV/TB/Malaria, nutrition, social mobilization and community
rehabilitation. Each HEW is responsible for 500 people or 100 homesteads. The
national target is to train 4113 HEWs by 2016. An initial evaluation showed an
increase in ANC attendance.

A challenge is the shortages of district level staff to provide the supervision and
follow up and referral services that may be result from the expanded outreach
activities.

12 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

3.2 Social Protection

The number of OVC receiving a social welfare grants continues to expand with 151,500 children receiving
a grant of N$250 per month per child in September 2014. Grants are provided for foster care, maintenance
(for poor, single parents) and special maintenance (for children with disabilities). There are also universal
pensions for people over the age of 60, which now stand at N$500 per month. The 2011 Census shows that
in rural areas 29.6 percent of households with children rely on social grants as a primary source of income,
while in urban areas the figure is 7.6 percent.

Graph 2: Numbers of Children Receiving Grants

The number of young children receiving a grant is low as shown in the table below. The number
of children aged 0 – 9 is less than half that of children aged 10 – 19 years old.

Table 3: Child Grants Coverage by age category by May 2015

10-14 15-19 20-21

Region 0-4 years 5-9 years Total
years years years
ERONGO 455 969 1564 1829 312 5129
HARDAP 586 1327 1844 2214 345 6316
KARAS 376 866 1302 1473 185 4202
KAVANGO 1558 4259 5930 6635 1117 19499
KHOMAS 1156 2403 3426 3767 600 11352
KUNENE 2685 5477 4253 2781 307 15503
OHANGWENA 1428 3790 7389 11021 2216 25844
OMAHEKE 376 1043 1640 1699 282 5040
OMUSATI 1493 3470 6077 9228 1995 22263
OSHANA 1191 2792 5149 7879 1883 18894
OSHIKOTO 924 2569 4951 7296 1566 17306
OTJOZONDJUPA 578 1607 2493 2957 519 8154
ZAMBEZI 732 1889 2689 3311 385 9006
Total 13538 32461 48707 62090 11712 168,508
Source: MGECW 2015 data

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 13

 3.3 Nutrition

The 2013 NDHS reported that 26% of under-5 children are stunted, 8% are
severely stunted, 13% are underweight and 6% are wasted. Stunting is highest
in the age group 23 – 33 months (2 -3 years old). Stunting levels are not improving.
Namibia will struggle to meet SDGs on nutrition.

Children who are malnourished will earn less, finish fewer grades in school, and
have more health problems than their well-nourished peers.

The interaction between frequent diseases episodes like diarrhoea and

pneumonia and inadequate food intake have contributed to the current levels of
malnutrition. Diarrhoea remains the leading cause of morbidity in the country. It
is seen more in rural areas and in parts of the country where water and sanitation
are a problem. The 2013 DHS reported that only 33.8% of the households have
access to improved sanitation while 20% of schools have no toilets.

3.4 Nurturing family environment and parenting support

Harsh parenting has been consistently associated with poor cognitive, social,
and health outcomes during childhood and across the entire life course.
Research shows that positive parenting practices and a nurturing relationship
between educarer and child can buffer the adverse effects of poverty and
violence, and contribute to positive developmental outcomes.12 Parenting
support interventions offer a platform for multiple linkages, including into health
and HIV services and educational support.

Parenting skills programming in Namibia is led by a unit within MoHSS. This unit
has plans to expand parenting programming and has connected with regional
technical resources such as the Parenting in African Network. With the technical
help of Lifeline/Childline they are now spearheading a Parenting Network with
MGECW and MoHSS and MoEAC represented along with various civil society
organisations. Representatives cite an “insatiable appetite for parenting support”,
with some indicating a demand beyond the ability of their current program to
meet. Social workers and Community Health Workers indicate that one of the
most prevalent issues in their client base was parents grappling with children’s
behavioural problem – sometimes leading to children being kicked out of the
home or referred to the social worker to find alternate care.

3.5 Stimulation for early learning

According to the 2011 National Education Conference, there is still little access
or equity in the provision of early childhood development and education. Based
on the 2011 Census less than 20% of children 0-4 years of age attend an ECD or
pre-primary class. According to the 2011 Census, 37,789 children between the
ages of 0 and 4 years were enrolled in ECD programmes.

International Rescue Committee, Do Parents Make the Difference? Findings from a randomized
12

impact evaluation of a parenting program in rural Liberia, 2014.

14 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

The MGECW baseline survey in 2012 found 61,218 children in ECD centres. Such facilities and
programmes are community or privately run and dependent on the contributions from parents,
guardians and benefactors. Access to quality services is not equitable as parents who can
afford it send their children to programs with well-trained educarers and adequate facilities,
while poorer families use volunteer or lowly paid educarers working in inadequate facilities with
little training or equipment.

In Namibia ECD facilities are owned or run by private individuals, community structures, NGOs
and FBOs, and in the case of Windhoek, the Municipality.

The Ministry of Education provided pre-primary education to 17,572 children in 2012 (EMIS 2012)
and to an estimated 25,000 in 2015. The number of children in pre-primary education classes
increased to 41,607, representing 6% of learners in Namibian schools in 2017 (15th Day School
Report, 2017). While the number of children in ECD centres increased from 61,218 in 2012 to
76,444 in 2017. Early childhood development programmes for younger children, however, are
still under-resourced and under-developed.

The MGECW has made major strides in formalizing the provision of IECD. This includes:

a) The development of Namibian Standards for ECD Facilities which include parent committees,
nutrition and health issues (with ETSIP support);
b) The development of Unit Standards for ECD educarer training submitted to the Namibia
Qualifications Authority with two National ECD qualifications, one at level 4 and one at level
5;
c) The development of a curriculum for 3 and 4 year olds to articulate with the MoE pre-
primary year;
d) A baseline survey of all ECD facilities in 2012 and the development of a database that looks
at coverage for orphans and children with disability (with ETSIP);
e) The provision for the first time of allowances of between N$ 1500 – N$ 2500 per month to
ECD educarers, who meet the necessary requirements as per the national Standards, now
standing at 804 educarers;
f) The increase in ECD program funds from the government budget to NAD28.2 million in
2017/18;
g) An analysis of the ECD data base with information from 2012 and some comparison with
the information in the Census 201113; and
h) The inclusion of ECD and nutrition into the National Agenda for Children with aligned
indicators.

The introduction of subsidies for ECD educarers, started in January 2013, has been enthusiastically
welcomed. However it has also highlighted a number of weak links in the system:

a) Need to register centres based on a thorough assessment, using the National Standards for
ECD facilities
b) Lack of clarity in categorising centres as private or community or NGO
c) Need for a stronger supervisory system with trained staff able to provide technical support.

13
Data on ECD facilities is collected by MGECW staff in the regions on an annual basis and put into the
database. The staff member responsible for the database resigned and her replacement has not yet been
recruited. Without her expertise, the database is under-utilized.

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 15

 3.6 Governance and Financing

The mandate to oversee coordination of ECD activities for children birth to four
years old is with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, for which
there is a Division within the Directorate of Community Empowerment. The
Ministry of Health and Social Services has divisions for Family Health under
Primary Health Care and a unit for parenting support under Social Services. The
Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration is responsible for the provision of
national documents.

One year of pre-primary education is provided by the Ministry of Education,

Arts and Culture through its decentralised Regional Education Offices, with the
National Institute for Educational Development (NIED) playing a leading role at
Head Office level. The actual provision of IECD services for the 0-6 year olds is the
responsibility of individuals, community and private providers. The Government
does not currently run any ECD centres. The divided governance of IECD has
been identified as a constraint in many reviews and has been highlighted in the
4th National Development Plan (NDP4). NDP 5 gives prominence to ECD as one
of the main critical factors of human capital development.

Currently, a division within the Directorate of Community and Early Childhood

Development in MGECW acts as the lead for ECD. Regional staff, Community
Liaison Officers (CLOs) or community activators (approximately one per
constituency) within the Directorate have dual responsibilities for income-
generating, women’s empowerment and early childhood development activities
at community level, resulting in conflicting commitments, resources and time
pressures, and lack of expertise as well as lack of adequate monitoring of
services.

16 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

 4. Framework for IECD
The development of the IECD Framework was participatory involving key stakeholders. Two
consensus-building stakeholder meetings were held in November 2014, January and June
2015 with the involvement of participating ministries, civil society partners, training institutions,
media, private sector, and international resource people. A public forum on IECD was held with
University of Namibia and a discussion with members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee
on Human Resources and Community Development were held on 23 June 2015. Subsequent
meetings and consultations were also held by the High Level Technical Committee.

The table below gives a summary of how the essential package for IECD can be delivered
through strengthened ministerial and stakeholder collaboration. The recent institutionalization
of Community Health Workers in the Ministry of Health and Social Services is an opportunity
for IECD to be included or strengthened. The use of existing NGO volunteers and other
potential new cadres of community care workers present additional opportunities as well.
The recent WHO guidelines of child care and development present an excellent opportunity
to trial some suitable home-visiting materials, with a special focus on families and children at
risk of developmental delays, particularly children exposed to HIV. In addition, UNICEF/WHO
Care for Child Development (CCD) Approach, has evidenced that importance of integrating
ECD into existing systems and services, including child health and nutrition, child protection,
child stimulation and early learning including home interventions where parents and siblings
communicate with young children through play in order to increase their communication and
socialisation skills.

The essential package for IECD was discussed and elaborated in additional intensive consultations
with implementing agencies.

Figure 1: Essential IECD package

Early
Literacy and
Numeracy
Care Giver Child
Support Protection

Social
Protection

Early Maternal
Stimulation and Child
Health

Nutrition

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 17

 ECD interventions in Namibia are currently implemented as indicated in the
table below.

Table 4: IECD Delivery

First 1000 days

Birth to 2 years of
Pregnancy 2-4 year-olds 5-8 year olds
age
ANC visits; Post-natal visit/care Deworming School health
PMTCT services New born care Hand washing Immunization
Health Safe delivery HIV testing Hand Washing
MoHSS; State gift box Deworming Sanitation/
MoEAC Parenting classes Immunization Personal Hygiene
Early disability
detection
Micro-nutrient Growth monitoring Vitamin A School feeding
supplements: 6 month exclusive Feeding at centres
Nutrition iron, folic acid, calcium breast -feeding Nutrition information
MoHSS; MoEAC IYCF information to IYCF information to to caregivers
caregivers caregivers
Vitamin A
Social Protection Preparation for Birth registration Social grants Social grants
MGECW MoPA registration for child Social grant
MHAI support grant application
Home- Visits Home visits for first 9 Day care Parent Community welfare
1 month for vulnerable months (4/month) support, service workers, social
mothers (child care workers) referral and skills auxiliary workers,
Community and clinic Parent support and building on protective social workers
Family and child
mother groups skills building care and discipline
protection
Family literacy
and
Family and child Day care promoters
parent/care-giver
protection address- early detection of
support
ing substance abuse, disability and referral
MoGECW, MoEAC,
mental health,
MoHSS
violence against
children & exposure to
violence

Preparation for Early stimulation and Early Stimulation and Pre-primary class
Opportunities for parenting play play School readiness
Early Learning Mother-infant play Early literacy Grade 1
MoEAC groups Community play
MoHSS Early detection of groups
MGECW disability and referral ECD Centres

Public campaigns and broad based communication strategy on support for pregnant women, infants and young children
and their parents

18 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

5. Goal, Components and Purpose of the
Framework
Goal: All children aged 0 - 8 have access to quality IECD services with a focus on the most
vulnerable

Components: There are seven components of the Framework, each with a purpose and
corresponding objectives (see Section 7).

Component 1: Improved Management

Purpose: The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture and the Ministry of Gender Equality and
Child Welfare, together with the Regional Councils, lead and manage the IECD programme at
national and regional levels

Component 2: Improved Advocacy and Public Outreach

Purpose: A fuller and more comprehensive understanding of the nature and importance of
IECD is evidenced among Parliamentarians, educators, health workers, community and church
leaders and family members

Component 3: Improved parenting for children aged 0 - 8

Purpose: Create awareness and understanding of the importance of the first 1000 days, and
help edu-carers to develop parenting skills to support optimal development of children during
this time (from conception to age 2)

Component 4: Improved Protection and Support for Young Children

Purpose: Young children 0 - 8 years of age are safeguarded from physical harm, inadequate
nutrition and toxic stress, and receive remedial intervention as needed

Component 5: Improved Access

Purpose: The number of children 0-8 years of age accessing IECD-related services, with priority
given to those in disadvantaged communities, is substantially increased

Component 6: Improved Quality of IECD

Purpose: IECD provision is of sufficient quality to be effective and efficient

Component 7: Improved Monitoring & Evaluation

Purpose: IECD programmes are adequately monitored and evaluated to ensure the continued
quality of service delivery and to inform policy and planning

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 19

 5.1 National Indicators

The following table of indicators is suggested to correspond with the above

components of the Framework.

National
IECD Component Key National Indicators Target for 2017/18
Baseline14
Establishment of a joint MGECW New Education Act
& MoEAC & MoHSS Workforce
NDP 4 Approved revised IECD
Component 1: Transformation Task Team, which
recommendation - Policy;
Improved management will evolve into an ECD coordination
action pending 80% of posts filled
structure with national and regional
functions

Component 2: Percentage of general education

0.7% 4.5%
Improved advocacy budget allocated to IECD and PPE*.
83% (Penta 3
Immunization at the age of 14 85%
Component 3: weeks)
Improved Parenting PMTCT Coverage 90% 95%

under 5 mortality 54/1000 40/1,000

Children 0-4 receiving a grant 13,538 (2013) TBD

Children 5-9 receiving a grant 32, 461 TBD

Component 4:
Improved protection Birth certificates under 1 year 59% TBD
and support for young
children Stunting 24% 20%

No. of children neglected, physically

1,713 3% reduction
and sexually abused
No. of children reached by an IECD 75,000
57,000
program
% Increase in number of
# of children with disabilities provided children with disabilities
Component 5: the necessary support services
Improved Access accessing IECD services

% of children attending pre-primary

25% 45%
class

Number of ECD educarers trained

and certified at least Level 4 by
TBD TBD
institutions accredited by the Namibia
Component 6: Qualifications Authority (NQA);
TBD TBD
Improved quality of % of educarers trained in inclusive
IECD approaches
Percentage of pre-primary teachers
with teachers’ qualification, 68.2% 71.2 %
disaggregated by region*;
Component 7:
% of Grade 1 repeats 20% 17%
Improved M&E

14
DHS 2014; Census 2011; NHIES; EMIS 2012

20 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

6. Monitoring and Evaluation
6.1 Approach and Purpose

The Framework for Expanded IECD provision requires a coherent system of operation
and a complementary M&E system to ensure programme improvement, data sharing and
accountability. The M&E plan provides an overview of how the government of the Republic of
Namibia plans to track the performance of the activities with the measurement of results as its
central focus.

The key aim of the M&E plan is to monitor implementation performance and evaluate results
so that challenges and gaps can be swiftly identified and improvements made at all levels. The
plan will ensure that data is collected and shared with stakeholders and that the necessary data
for reporting, accountability and planning are incorporated into existing data collection efforts.

This M&E Plan describes how stakeholders will monitor implementation. Specifically, the M&E
Plan provides for:

• Standardized tools and indicators for the monitoring and evaluation of all IECD activities in
the country;
• Generating information required for planning for IECD by the Namibian Government,
implementers and others, including:

o Determination of resource and capacity needs;

o Tracking where IECD services are provided and where additional services are required;
o Monitoring barriers to access to quality IECD services, especially to children with
disabilities and children in remote rural communities.

• Monitoring changes in the numbers of children participating in some IECD activity;

• Monitoring and assessing the quality of IECD services based on assessment of a child’s
development;
• Establishing a clear flow of data between the different stakeholders including government,
implementing agencies, beneficiaries and the general public;
• Conducting research and studies to continuously inform policy and planning purpose.

6.2 Principles

The key principle governing the M&E plan will be a focus on a limited number of strategic
indicators that direct performance towards achieving priority results. The strategic indicators will
be determined through inputs from all the key stakeholders, and subject to change over time as
results are achieved and priorities shift. The focus on strategic indicators will contribute to better
coordination across stakeholder efforts, and useful information products for dissemination. The
focus on strategic indicators does not preclude programmes from collecting their own routine
data as relevant and appropriate.

The following guiding principles provide a foundation for the M&E plan:

• Alignment and integration of IECD data with existing M&E systems such as EMIS and the
National Agenda for Children;

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 21

 • Close cooperation with the Namibian Statistics Agency and the Demographic
Health Survey;
• Application of existing indicators from other plans;
• Non-duplication of effort and non-expansion of indicators;
• Data quality;
• Data dissemination and use in decision making rather than solely extractive
process;
• Adequate financial and human resources for supporting the M&E system at
national, regional and local levels.

6.3 Steps for implementing, producing and disseminating M&E

The implementation of the M&E plan is intended to be a participatory process.

1. The proposed new National High Level IECD Coordination Group will provide
oversight and coordination for the implementation of the IECD Framework.
Coordination will include the following key M&E activities:

a) Produce a detailed M&E and research plan that stipulates M&E and research
priorities and activities;
b) Update M&E and research plans annually;
c) Convene quarterly M&E technical meetings;
d) Request brief quarterly reports based on strategic priorities from the
implementing agencies and partners;
e) Convene bi-annual meetings for all stakeholders to report on progress and
programme results, which may coincide with general stakeholder events;
f) Produce an annual M&E report;
g) Commission and manage evaluations and studies according to the plan;
h) Collaborate with research institutions to conduct research focusing on
various aspects of IECD.

2. An internal mid-term progress report and end-term review of the IECD

Framework will be conducted. The National High Level IECD Coordination
Group will support the coordination of data reporting and synthesis to assess
the end-term progress towards achieving the results of the plan. The Group
will facilitate the recruiting of independent evaluators to lead the process of
the end-term review.

6.4 Supervision and data quality

The quality of the data generated by the system is crucial to the success of
the action plan. Teams are needed at local and regional level to supervise
implementation and to collect the necessary data, using assessment-
standardized tools, some of which are in existence and some of which need to
be developed.

The National High Level IECD Coordination Group will commission data quality
reviews at key milestones throughout the framework’s implementation period.
Plans to support data quality improvement will be devised based on the
recommendations of the data quality reviews.

22 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

The current ECD-MIS within MGECW will be strengthened and key information incorporated
into the EMIS.

The National IECD Task Team will take advantage of its current routine engagement schedule to
convene bi-annual stakeholder meetings to present results on strategic priorities as reported by
contributor’s quarterly reports. The national IECD Task Team will produce an annual IECD report
and contribute to the annual Ministerial reviews in the different ministries. Data analysis should
be done at national as well as local and regional levels. In addition to these periodic information
products, the team will respond to specific and reasonable ad hoc information requests from its
stakeholders. Responding to requests for information may be necessary for strategic reasons,
such as contributing to policy debates in parliament or imputing into planning processes for
particular ministries. Whenever possible this information will be retrieved from standard easily
generated reporting from the database.

Following the annual reporting, an expanded stakeholder workshop will be held to disseminate
the findings and to encourage staff and stakeholders to analyse and use the data to make
changes at local level.

6.5 Research Agenda

In identifying and prioritizing research questions, the following criteria will be considered:

Table 6: Criteria for Research Questions

Criteria Definition/Explanation
Answerable by Likelihood that the research question can be answered ethically
research
Likelihood that the new knowledge would lead to an effective
Effective
intervention or program
Likelihood that the intervention or program the research informs
Feasible
would be deliverable and affordable
Likelihood that the intervention or program that the research informs
Impact
could improve child health and development substantially
Likelihood that the intervention or program the research informs
will reduce inequity i.e. it will reach and improve the health and
Equity
development of the most vulnerable groups as well as the more
advantaged

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 23

 The research literature demonstrates that IECD interventions produce results. Of
research interest is the specific considerations for designing and implementing
programs in the Namibian context, and evidence of population level outcomes
of widely implemented programs.

Table 7: Examples of research into implementation include:

Research Question – Implementation

1. Identify the characteristics of an effective parenting support intervention
that results in improved health and education outcomes for children under 5.
2. Evaluate interventions targeting expectant fathers and other male figures
in the household in relation to improved child nutrition.
3. Identify material and psychosocial support that can be provided as part
of an expanded antenatal package for vulnerable women to enhance early
childhood outcomes from birth to 2.
4. Assess the role of standards for day care in improving quality of care in
resource poor settings.
5. Identify the different informal and non-formal care arrangements of
children under 3 in rural and urban areas and determine any relationships
with nutritional status.

Examples of research for demonstrating population level outcomes include:

• Comparing the impact of IECD in communities that have widely implemented

quality IECD interventions to communities with little or no access to such
interventions.
• Designing evaluations of large IECD interventions by including baselines and
impact assessments that attempt to demonstrate effects in demarcated
populations.
• Implementing a substantial cohort study in Namibia, managed by UNAM
and involving key stakeholders including ministries of health, education and
gender equality and child welfare.

24 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

7. Early Childhood Investment, Costing
and Financing
7.1 Financing IECD: Public Resources

Efforts to improve health, wellbeing and learning across the life-course are most effective and
economically efficient during pregnancy, the first two years of life, and during early childhood
up until eight years of age. The greatest benefits of protection and support during this period
are reaped when subsequent experiences (education, family care, health services) reinforce the
foundations established early in life. For these reasons, many countries around the world are
realizing the importance of investing in improving both the survival and healthy development of
young children and maintaining the momentum established in early life.

The Government introduced Programme Based Budgeting in 2005, the logic being that the
use of resources is considered according to the results they produce. The National budget is
presented by votes: the Ministry of Education (MoE) is Vote 10 and Ministry of Gender Equality
and Child Welfare (MGECW) is Vote 12.

It has been quite difficult to make accurate estimates of allocations and expenditure on IECD.
This is because IECD cuts across several sectors (health, nutrition, child welfare, pre-primary
education and community development and child stimulation and early learning). The ministries
do not budget according to a common IECD framework, notwithstanding the defined division
of labour within the IECD Policy. Moreover, the structure of the budget seems to vary within
each ministry. Therefore, the main identifiable IECD line items are linked to the budgets of the
MGECW, for IECD and Child Welfare and the MoEAC for the Pre-primary education sub-sector.
The other major funder of IECD services, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS),
unfortunately does not collect data in a way that allows budgets for specific services and age
groups to be identified.

Though it is evident that additional funding is needed, it is difficult to determine the extent of the
shortfall. To date, there has been no costing of a reasonable and comprehensive IECD package
of services for the most vulnerable and marginalised population groups, nor has there been
population-based mapping of the need for IECD services, highlighting the areas of deficiency
that need prioritising. To date there has been no in-depth assessment of current philanthropic
or private sector allocations to IECD, or future willingness by the private sector to support IECD.

Nevertheless, it is important to note that funding levels for IECD over the last 3 years have
increased and that such increases have moved towards a pro-equity service provision (i.e.
extension of the Children’s Fund; increase in parental and health care support; access to
free pre-primary and primary education in public schools; establishment of a subsidy fund
for educarers working in community –run ECD centres; etc.). However, the impact of such
increases on reducing inequality of service provision has not been monitored nor assessed to
date. The tables and the graph on page 30 give a general indication of the public sector spending
trends in IECD.

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 25

 Table 8: IECD and PPE estimated budgets form the MTEF (2014/15 to 2016/17) in N$

Activity
Programme Budget MTEF Projections
Code
2014/15 2015/16 2016/17
MGECW Total Vote 12 721,101,000 818,190,000 959,492,000
Support Community and 16,858,000 11,602,000 15,952,000
03
IECD15 (2.3%) (1.4%) (1.7%)
Care and protection of 525,861,000 631,448,000 744,021,000
02
children (72.9%) (77.2%) (77.5%)
MoE Total Vote 10 13,068,166,000 14,129,637,000 14,906,331,000

339,249,000 360,969,000 384,267,000

Pre-Primary Education 02.01
(2.6%) (2.6%) (2.6%)

Source: Medium Term Expenditure Framework 2014/15 to 2016/17

Early Childhood Development (ECD) and pre-primary education (PPE) received

2.34% and 2.6% respectively of the total MGECW and MoEAC budgets in
2014/15. The projections for the following 2 years show a drastic decrease of
over 30% from current ECD budget levels while for PPE the MoEAC estimated
an annual increase of approximately 6.4%. However, in both sub sectors the
contribution to ECD and PPE in relation to the overall MGECW and MoEAC
budgets will decrease to 1.7% and remain at 2.6% respectively for the period
2016/17.

For ECD, the figures provided in the MTEF do not correspond to the ones provided in the Estimate of Reve-
15

nue, Income and Expenditure 2014/15 to 2016/17 and seem very low compared to the latter.

26 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

Table 9: ECD budget from the MGECW – main areas of support

Estimate Estimate Estimate Estimate

Actual
2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17
2012/13 N$
N$ N$ N$ N$
Individuals
and Non-Profit
5,499,135 15,379,000 32,402,000 28,423,000 26,250,000
Organisations
ECD subsidies
ECD support
5,499,135 15,379,000 16,337,000 22,423,000 20,000,000
subsidies
ECD Centre
Building,
0 0 6,214,000 5,000,000 4,250,000
teaching and
learning material
Community
empowerment 0 0 7,751,000 0 0
Centres
Train ECD
0 0 2,100,000 1,000,000 2,000,000
Educarers
Source: Estimate of Revenue, Income and Expenditure 2014/15 to 2016/17

When analysing the budget distribution personnel costs account for approximately 73% (2013/14)
of the total annual PPE budget and 55% (2013/14) for ECD and Community Development; the
percentage distribution gradually decreases over to the next three years to 64% for PPE and
42% for ECD in 2016/17. The budget for PPE shows a regular increase for the development
component, which is mainly linked to the building of new PPE classes in public, increasing
from 9.8 to 11.8 over a four-year period. On the other hand, the ECD budget demonstrates a
reluctance to invest in infrastructure.

Graph 3: ECD and PPE Budget distribution from MoE and MGECW

Source: Estimate of Revenue, Income and Expenditure 2014/15 to 2016/17

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 27

 What should be prioritized?

A basic ‘package’ of services to reach universal coverage should be costed

for different modes of delivery. Many services, such as those provided by the
MoHSS, are already in place nevertheless more funds would be needed for the
hard to reach families. In under-serviced areas, IECD capacity and infrastructure,
especially for early learning and care services, need to be established from
scratch. A costing for the sector must be made from a population-wide
perspective, rather than merely increasing funding for existing services, many
of which are in already relatively well-provisioned geographical areas.

Subsequently, the GRN should look into establishing a new funding model
that prioritises the distribution of resources for the most vulnerable children.
This would mean providing services where there are none and in regions with
highest needs, not only in centres but also in home- and community-based
programmes. This model could be based on a per capita allocation. Funding
should also be allocated for programme development and maintenance, such as
training, resource materials, monitoring and quality assurance.

The model should ensure adequate level of funds to provide services for the
poorest families who cannot afford to pay for them. This would mean that the
GRN would raise funds from partners and facilitate the provision of services
from private sector and non-governmental partners. Partners would commit to
a common national IECD plan and contribute to the delivery of national IECD
policies and standards in a coordinated manner to ensure an equitable spread
of essential good quality IECD services. Finally, the new model should have a
simple approach to funding and monitoring programmes.

7.2 Considerations for IECD Investment

The analysis of the cost and financing of IECD programmes and services is a
key exercise in sector diagnosis as any policy or strategy aimed at expanding
the coverage or improving the quality of IECD services will depend in great part
on their relative cost and on the public and private financing available to the sub-
sector, as well as the efficient use of those resources.

One of the characteristics of IECD is that the sources and financing mechanisms
are numerous, and unlike the financing of formal primary education, public IECD
resources are usually not the main source of funds. Thus the correct identification
of the different financing sources and mechanisms is required to fairly establish
the costs and financing of the sector.

IECD financing issues are complex and diverse, especially because they include
investments in many sectors (primarily health, nutrition, education, social
protection, and sanitation) and the period from pre-conception to at least age 8.

28 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

The Consultative Group ECCD16 has recognised that currently, the weakest area of IECD policy
planning is in the realm of financial planning. IECD policies or policy frameworks should include
an Investment Plan, and line ministries’ operational Strategic Plans should specify budget
requirements to address the particular IECD actions.

7.2.1 Financing IECD - sources of funds and allocation mechanisms

IECD program funding relies on a combination of public and private funds.

Public Resources: the flow of public funds from the central government can assume various
forms, from partial subsidies to the total coverage of services’ operational costs. Although in
most cases public financing is devoted to public IECD programmes and services, some private
providers receive subsidies as transfers. In other cases, public transfers are made to service
beneficiaries, such as in the case of social allocations to families with young children.

Public funds may be allocated “directly” to IECD service providers by budget allocations, block
grants, earmarked grants, matching funds, or to program participants by vouchers, subsidy
payments or conditional cash transfers. Funds can also be allocated “indirectly” to providers
through tax credits and rebates, or to program participants through the application of generous
parental leave policies, need-based sliding-fee scales, or specific tax credits and rebates.

Private Spending: household spending may be particularly high due to the prevalence of private
and community provision of some IECD services such as nurseries and Kindergarten and in
some countries pre-primary education. Data may be consolidated from household spending
surveys’ education spending modules.

Private sector: the role of the private sector in financing IECD services varies. Some childcare
centres are run as private, for-profit businesses. Usually, they either target the richer children in
order to receive the required fees to cover costs, or they are subsidised by the government to
provide for lower-income children. Private sector contributions can also consist of the employer
financing a day-care centre at or close to the workplace for the children of its employees.
Corporate social investment from the private sector can make substantial contributions to the
provision of facilities and running of programmes in IECD.

Social organizations: such as community, charitable, religious and other non-governmental

organizations can play an important role in financing IECD programs. They might provide the
entire of services or pay part of the costs, either in money or in kind such as time and labour,
donation of materials or the location for a child care centre. A number of philanthropies are
interested or are already investing in IECD in Namibia. These efforts are not coordinated, but
represent substantial investment in IECD. GRN will not be in a position to fund all the needed
IECD intervention, and mobilizing and coordinating other resources will be critical.

International organizations: donors usually contribute with grants to expand or pilot programs
and/or small-scale projects, and lay the base for implementation on a larger scale. The funding
would cover (part of) the initial investment costs. Funding for operating or recurrent costs
will usually be decreased over time. Ultimately, international organizations often expect IECD

The Consultative group on Early Childhood Care and Development is an international consortium of donor
16

and UN agencies and international NGOs, national and regional organisations and networks, and academic
or educational institutions that advocate and support programme and policy development for young
children from pre-birth to age 8.

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 29

 projects to become sustainable and rely on national and local rather than external
support.

7.3 Costing

A comprehensive cost analysis framework may be useful to guide planning and

data requirements. Any costing study should be clear from the start about the
types of information it needs to gather.

The following areas are common in most cost analyses: (1) sources of funds
to determine who is bearing the cost of the program and where the funds are
being generated; (2) a list of investment and operational costs; (3) a breakdown
of operating costs to identify the proportion of direct and overhead costs, as well
as fixed and variable costs; (4) program setting (rural/urban); (5) costs related to
lines of action (materials, supplies, food, training); (6) project stage (pilot, semi-
established, or established program); and (7) intensity of services (length of time
a service is offered, whether it is full-time or part- time). Once the information
is in place, a costing table is then built from which the unit cost of the program
can be derived, depending on the total number of beneficiaries expected to be
reached.

The Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD)10

suggests the following ways to keep costs low:

• Focus services in limited, disadvantaged populations;

• Use trained community workers or family members as educarers and
teachers;
• Use all available resources (people of all ages, facilities available part-time,
recycled materials);
• Use existing infrastructure by incorporating ECCD elements into on-going
health, nutrition, regional development, and adult education programs; and
• Use mass media and all other means of communication.

The importance of a cost-benefit analysis: although affordability can play an

important role in deciding which approach to adopt, the cheapest program or
project component is not always best in fostering healthy child development.

An inexpensive program in absolute terms can be relatively very expensive if it

does not produce satisfactory child outcomes. The costs per beneficiary per year
might range from NAD 2,500 to over NAD 25,000 and programs with different
costs are likely to have different impacts on child development. But the reverse
is not necessarily true either. Expensive projects do not always produce the best
quality services.

An analysis of cost-effectiveness will give better insight in which programs are

most effective in relation to their costs. A cost-benefit analysis will compare
both the costs and benefits of a particular intervention in monetary terms to
determine whether the intervention is an economically sound investment.

30 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

7.4 Recommendations for the Namibian context

Some general recommendations related to the Namibian context are offered for discussion:

• Participatory IECD policy-planning processes should include rigorous investment planning

in full collaboration with ministries of finance and planning as well as line ministries of
education, health, child welfare, social protection, and health. National NGOs, institutions
of higher learning, and private-sector institutions should also be included, as appropriate;
• An adequate number of staff members in the relevant ministries and regional offices to
provide professional leadership for the activities is required.;
• It is essential to conduct careful studies of cost per unit of service, cohort and/or programme
in order to have a reliable basis for projecting potential future costs (Myers 2008);
• Mapping studies should be conducted to help ensure that costs are projected for serving
the high-priority populations and geographic regions targeted in the national IECD Policy;
• Funding targets should be established for annual programme, sectoral and inter-sectoral
budgets and for medium- and long-term IECD support;
• Establish high, medium, and low targets for funding IECD services in order to plan flexibly,
maximise the use of scarce financial and human resources, and achieve the highest possible
quality;
• Consider the option of establishing a National IECD fund, as well as an array of innovative
funding approaches in addition to legislatively established public-sector budgets; and
• All programmes should be designed from the outset to go to scale and become sustainable
through establishing a long-term and diversified investment plan as well as securing official
recognition for national-level IECD programmes.

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action 31

8. Characteristics for a successful IECD
Programme in Namibia
The successful implementation of an integrated approach to ECD in
Namibia requires the following:

• Political will with high level government involvement;

• Adequate multi-sectoral resource allocation to ECD;
• Continuous advocacy at all levels of society;
• Having legislative frameworks, policies and supportive strategies in place;
• Strengthening coordination within and across ministries and with all critical
national, regional and local stakeholders and building very strong partnerships
with civil society, private sector and NGO’s;
• Strengthening governance structures and ensuring accountability;
• Planning and management to ensure effective implementation of the IECD
Framework;
• Monitoring and evaluation;
• National ownership of the IECD Framework by Government.

Activities to be undertaken for the implementation of IECD:

See tables on the following pages.

Proposed Strategic Framework for Early Childhood Development 2017/18 -

2021/22
(Draft version 1 March)

Goal: All children aged 0-8 have access to quality IECD services with a focus on
the most vulnerable

Component 1: Improved Management

Component 2: Improved Advocacy and Public Outreach
Component 3: Improved Parenting for Children Aged 0 - 8
Component 4: Improved Protection and Support for Young Children
Component 5: Improved Access
Component 6: Improved Quality of IECD
Component 7: Improved M&E

32 IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

 Component 1: Improved Management

Purpose: The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (MoEAC) and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare (MGECW),
together with the Regional Councils, lead and manage the IECD Framework at national and regional levels.

2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22

Objective Activities Implementing Agents Lead Agents
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
1. Submit IECD Framework MGECW and MoEAC jointly MoEAC & MGECW
for Cabinet’s approval
2. Revive the National IECD MoEAC, MGECW, MoHSS MoEAC & MGECW x
Committee (detailed TORs to
be developed and approved)
3. Briefing and guidance MoEAC and MGECW, with MGECW & MOEAC x
to MoEAC and MGECW UNICEF support
staff members at Head
Establish an operational
Offices and Regional Offices
National IECD Coordination
regarding approved IECD
Structure with clear lines of
Framework
responsibility
4. Prepare joint budgeting MoEAC and MGECW MoEAC x x x
proposal for ECD
5. Assess readiness of ECD NIECD Committee, MGECW MoEAC x x x x x x x x
transition in Namibia and and MoEAC (HR), with assis-
discuss with all relevant tance from EU and UNICEF
agents the necessary
structural and institutional
changes
1. Assess existing ECD MGECW and MoEAC (PQA), MGECW x
centres registration with assistance from UNICEF
system and provide and EU
Improve assessment and recommendations for full

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

registration system of ECD compliance with CCPA
Facilities
2. Train staff in CCPA MGECW, with assistance MGECW x
compliance and management from EU
of the registration system
1. Assess existing data MCEGW and MoEAC (PQA), MoEAC x x x
collection system for ECD with assistance from UNICEF
and make recommendations and EU
Improve ECD MIS and make for improvements
linkages with EMIS
2. Make any necessary MCEGW and MoEAC, with MoEAC x
system changes to link ECD assistance from UNICEF
database to EMIS and EU

33
34
Component 2: Improved Advocacy and Public Outreach

Purpose: A more comprehensive understanding of IECD nature and importance is shared among Government members,
Parliamentarians, Educators, Health Workers, Community and Church Leaders, family members and society in general.

2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22

Objective Activities Implementing Agents Lead Agents
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
1. Develop a National ECD MGECW and MoEAC, MGECW x
Advocacy Strategy (including with assistance from DPs
identified target groups, key (UNICEF, UNESCO, EU)
messages and adequate
Raise awareness and communication strategies)
advocate for the importance
of IECD 2. Organise follow up work- MoEAC, MGECW, MoHSS MGECW x x x x x x
shops after the first national
advocacy workshop held in
December 2015 (sponsored
by UNESCO)

Component 3: Improved parenting for children aged 0 - 8

Purpose: Create awareness and understanding of the importance of the first 1000 days and help carers to develop parenting skills
to support optimal development of children from conception to age 8

Implementing 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22

Objective Activities Lead Agents
Agents 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

1. Identify and appoint a multi-sectoral team to MoHSS (will MoHSS
strengthen dialogue and coordinate activities aimed at inform MoEAC and x x x
supporting parenting MGECW)
Improve support to 2. Mainstream into the Curricula life skills and MoEAC and MoHSS MoEAC
Parents of children aged reproductive health, and nutrition. Trickle-down effect
0-8 into community programs and parenting programs,
x x x x x x x x
literacy programs and educators including into curricula
of institutions of higher learning (education, nursing,
medicine, social work)
 Implementing 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22
Objective Activities Lead Agents
Agents 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
3. Conduct a scoping exercise of current health, home MOHSS, MGECW MGECW
and family visitor programmes in Namibia to identify and
cadres who could be re-trained or used within both MoEAC
x x x x x x x x
public and civil society sectors. Use international
best practice based on evidence (MoEAC, MoHSS;
MGECW, others)
4. Document family visitor programme for at- risk MoHSS
communities, starting with identified communities in (parenting
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Develop a family visitors 5 regions. Starting with the same communities where programme)
programme for at risk the first 28 GRN ECD centres will be built.
mothers, parents, 5. Develop a curriculum for home visiting, drawing MoHSS
educarers, grandparents on Namibian and international experience and using (parenting x x x x x x
and elder siblings of existing materials whenever possible programme)
children aged 0 - 2
6. Procurement of equipment and other needed MoHSS
x x x x x x x x x x
resources for family visitors programmes
7. Recruitment and training of first group of 100 family MoHSS
visitors (parenting x x x x x x x x x
programme)
8. Develop a M&E system for home visitors MoHSS
(parenting x x x x
programme)
9. Improve collaboration and sharing of school health MoHSS MoEAC MoHSS
program, HEW scope, and other local health care (parenting
Improve capacity to reach
functions with other line ministries and civil society, programme) x
out young children
possibly through RACOCs or Child Care and Protection
Forums
10. Review school health policy and practice to ensure National School MoEAC

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

Expand School Health
that there is sufficient emphasis on early intervention Health Task Force
programme to ECD x x x x
and health visits to ECD facilities coordinating body
facilities
ministries
Improve infant care by 11. Develop a list of needed items and start with a trial. MoHSS MoHSS
providing expectant Evaluate impact of the trial and decide roll out.
mothers with relevant
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
information and
supplements through
ANC and at delivery

35
36
Component 4: Improved Protection and Support for Young Children

Purpose: Young children 0-8 years of age are safeguarded from gender based violence, physical harm, inadequate nutrition and
toxic stress, and receive remedial intervention as needed.

2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22

Objective Activities Implementing Agents Lead Agents
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
1. Develop Training materials MoHSS, MGECW, MoEAC MGECW x x x x x x x x
in Namibian languages for all and NGOs
family visitors, HEWs, IECD
centre staff, community-
based social welfare workers,
Improve identification of pre-primary teachers and
children at risk and use of grade 1 teachers, and
referral procedures police groups. This includes
pre-testing and training of
trainers (ToTs)
2. Run continuous in-service MoEAC (Regional Education MGECW x x x x x x x x x x x X X X X X
training for educarers Offices), MoHSS MGECW
and MSS structures
3. Review existing curriculum MGECW, MoEAC MoEAC (NIED and PQA) x x x x x x x x x x
and child development
Ensure early detection programmes
of impairments and
4. Training of educarers MGECW and MoEAC, (NIED MoEAC (NIED and PQA) x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
identification of adequate
and PQA)
interventions for children
with special needs 5. Training of parents MGECW and MoEAC (and MoEAC x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
NIED, PQA and literacy
programme)
6. Organise a workshop to MGECW (social welfare) MGECW x x x x x x x x x x x x
assess current data on age
of recipients and access to
grants. Based on the findings

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

of the workshop, develop
recommendations to improve
the system.
Ensure effective access to
child grants 7. Train appropriate staff x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
(constituency child care
workers, social workers)
on approaches to ensure
that parents of infants apply
successfully for early birth
registration and available
grants
 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22
Objective Activities Implementing Agents Lead Agents
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
8. Identify existing positive MoHSS, MoEAC MGECW x x x x x x x x x x
parenting programmes and MGECW
develop new programmes
9. Include prevention of and MoHSS, MoEAC MoEAC x x x x x x x x x x
Promote social mobilization
response to violence and ne- MGECW
on prevention of and
glect of young children in the
response to violence and
Family Literacy program
neglect of young children
10. Prepare information MoHSS, MoEAC MGECW x x x x x x x
packs for diverse players on MGECW
dangerous effects of violence
and neglect on children
11. Adapt the current school- MGECW and partners MGECW x x x x x x x x
based messaging around
Feeling Yes/Feeling No to be
used at ECD facilities
12. Train and Support Child DCW and partners MGECW - DCW x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Care and Protection Forums,
Young children’s expression based on CCP Act to refer
of fear or trauma is heard young children experiencing
and appropriately responded abuse or neglect in line with
to the National Child Protection
Flowchart
13. Train and support DCW and partners MGECW - DCW x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
State social workers in
managing reporting of VAC
and emergency removal of
children at risk.

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

37
38
Component 5: Improved Access

Purpose: The number of children 0-8 years of age accessing IECD-related services, with priority given to those in disadvantaged
communities, is substantially increased.

2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22

Objective Activities Implementing Agents Lead Agents
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
1. Use existing examples to MGECW, MoEAC, MGECW and x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
develop standardised plans MoWT, Local Authorities MoEAC
for community ECD facilities.
All services should be
integrated in such facilities,
giving access to primary
Improve access to IECD-
health and social services
related services in the most
as well as early learning,
disadvantaged communities
and serving children of 0-6
years and their parents
or educarers. Pre-primary
classes can be included in
such centres if all required
conditions are met
2. Develop a long-term MGECW, with EU assistance MGECW x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
plan for ECD infrastructure
Expand ECD Centres development
nationally 3. Construct / renovate 28 MGECW, MWT, EU MGECW x
model ECD centres and PPE
classrooms
4. Review and update MoEAC with EU assistance MoEAC x x x x x x x x x x
existing long-term plan for
pre-primary infrastructure
Expand Pre-primary classes development

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

5. Construct / renovate PPE MoEAC MoEAC x x x x x x x x x x x x x
classrooms
 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22
Objective Activities Implementing Agents Lead Agents
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
6. Conduct consultations MoEAC, MGECW MGECW x
with faith-based and NGOs
who are providers of IECD to
identity needs and areas of
support
7. Implementation ECD MoEAC, MGECW MGECW x
Reinforce support to ECD
subsidies for Educarers with
service providers
control measures
8. Carry out an evaluation MoEAC, MGECW MGECW x x x
of subsidies provided to
community ECD providers in
order to increase coverage
and ensure effective control
9. Organise education ses- MGECW, MoHSS MGECW x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x X
sions on nutritious meals for
Ensure nutritious meal Educarers and communities
to vulnerable children and distribute information
participating in an ECD leaflets
programme 10. Pilot feeding programmes ECD Providers, MGECW, MGECW x x x x x x
to reach vulnerable children in MoEAC
needy areas
11. Explore the possibility MoHSS MoHSS x x
of free health services to MGECW
vulnerable people (e.g. MoEAC
children under age of 5 years
or pregnant women)
Strengthen Multi-sector 12. Encourage multi-sector x x x x

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

approaches to address approach for maternal
malnutrition of children education, awareness raising
and nutritional counselling
13. Initiate a campaign x x x x x x
targeting parents on child
health and nutrition, hygiene
and sanitation

39
40
Component 6: Improved Quality of IECD

Purpose: IECD provision is of sufficient quality to be effective and efficient

Lead 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22

Objective Activities Implementing Agents
Agents 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
1. UNAM to offer Bachelor and Master MoEAC, NIED and relevant MoEAC, x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
degrees in ECD. Write a request letter to partners, MGECW NIED,
UNAM to develop IECD degree courses MGECW
Increase ECD qualifications
offered at Tertiary Level 2. Infuse the 1000 days and brain MGECW, UNICEF MGECW x x x
development in the curriculum of education,
social work, nursing, psychology and medicine
in the ECD Curriculum training for Educarers
3. Training of staff CCLOs, CLOs in MGECW MGECW x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
management, supervision and monitoring of
Make Continuous IECD programmes
Professional Development
available for all IECD 4. Establish an Agreement with UNAM Centre x x x x
practitioners for Professional Development, Teaching and
Learning Improvement (CPDTLI) for IECD
practitioners to be included in CPD
5. Establish an Agreement between MoEAC MoEAC MoEAC x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Ensure attribution of
and NSFAF to provide bursaries to prospective
bursaries to students wanting
students giving special attention to those who
to have a qualification in ECD
would teach in rural communities
6. Increase the provision of equitable quality MoEAC MoEAC x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
School Readiness Programme to all children
aged between 5 and 6, which focus on: (a)
children’s learning and development; (b) the
Improve the quality of
school environment to be able to support a
pre-primary education to all
smooth transition for children into primary
children aged 5 and 6
school; and (c) parental and educarer attitudes

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

and involvement in their children’s early
learning and development and transition to
school
Improve the teaching 7. Develop and implement continuing MoEAC MoEAC x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
competencies of pre-primary professional development activities for pre-
teachers primary teachers
Improve availability of 8. Procure teaching and learning materials to MoEAC MoEAC x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
teaching and learning be used in pre-primary classrooms
materials in pre-primary
classrooms
 Lead 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22
Objective Activities Implementing Agents
Agents 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
9. Appointment by the Permanent Secretary MoEAC, MGECW MoEAC x x x x
of a Turnaround Team to develop strategies UNESCO, UNICEF
aimed at reducing repetition at Grade 1 UNAM

10. Turnaround Team to study findings of MoEAC, MGECW MoEAC x x x x

UNESCO CFIT action research and develop a UNESCO, UNICEF
strategic plan based on this framework UNAM
11. Make sure staffing and personnel MoEAC MoEAC x x x x x x x x x
measures concerning grade 1 teachers are MGECW
in place by negotiating with the Teaching UNESCO
Decrease Grade 1 repetition Service Committee of the Public Service UNICEF
level Commission, OPM and Treasury the following: UNAM
(a) staffing norms for grade 1; (b) incentives
for appropriately qualified teachers to
teach grade 1 classes; (c) support staff for
stressed schools and (d) incentives to attract
students to study for Junior Primary teaching
qualifications (e) basic housing for qualified
teachers in remote rural schools
12. Sufficient grade 1 reading and numeracy MoEAC, EU MoEAC x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
materials in Namibian languages are procured, Private Sector
distributed and used
1. Mass training of grade 1 teachers, in MoEAC MoEAC x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
clusters or circuits, in essential skills for NIPAM
Upgraded teaching skills of all teaching literacy and numeracy, three times UNAM
unqualified or under-qualified per year, in the week before the start of each

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

grade 1 teachers term. Development of Continuing Professional
Development Programme for grade 1 teachers
to obtain professional qualifications.
2. Nomination at circuit level and selection UNESCO MoEAC x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Recognition of outstanding
at Regional and National level of outstanding EU
work of grade 1 teachers
grade 1 teachers, and giving appropriate Private Sector
through awards
certificates and prizes
Improve quality and 3. Encouragement of parents, educarers and MoEAC MoEAC x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
efficiency of Family Literacy older siblings to take part in the family literacy
Programme programme in larger numbers

41
42
Component 7: Improved M&E

Purpose: IECD programmes are adequately monitored and evaluated to ensure the continued quality of service delivery and to
inform policy and planning

2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22

Objective Activities Implementing Agents Lead Agents
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
1. National Workshop/ x x
Conference to discuss IECD
Framework and assess
progress of implementation
2. Team to study findings of MoEAC, MGECW MoEAC x x x x x x x x
international, regional and MoHSS, UNICEF
Review and assessment local research concerning EU, UNESCO
of progress made in the development of children from MGECW
implementation of the IECD conception to 8 years
Framework
3. Develop Terms of MoEAC and MGECW, with MGECW & MOEAC x x
Reference for the study to UNICEF support
be conducted and approach
researchers to participate
in the study in collaboration
with the Faculty of Education
and the Parenting Unit
4. Develop a results frame- ECD HTC MGECW x x x x x x x x x x x
work and set of indicators for
IECD, aligned to the National
A monitoring and evaluation
Agenda for Children and the
system for IECD is in place
Strategic Plan for Education
and periodically update all
stakeholders on progress.

IECD Service Delivery A Framework for Action

 Towards Integrated
Early Childhood Development
Service Delivery in Namibia
A Framework for Action

2017 - 2022

REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA