South Sudan Launches National Network to Protect, Invest in Early Childhood

By Jenifer James

South Sudan launched a national network on Tuesday aimed at transforming early childhood development. This initiative seeks to strengthen coordination, investment, and policy implementation for young children across the country.

The South Sudan National Early Childhood Development Network (SSNECDN) was inaugurated during a high-level forum in Juba. The event brought together government officials, civil society organizations, development partners, academics, and representatives from all 10 states and three administrative areas.

The network addresses long-standing gaps in the coordination, financing, and implementation of early childhood development programs. These programs have often operated in isolation across different sectors, including education, health, nutrition, and child protection.

Celine Grace Peter, Director General for Child Welfare at the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, emphasized the critical importance of the first five years of life. She stated that children require adequate nurturing, care, protection, and healthcare during this crucial developmental stage.

“Children complete their body development from the age of 0–5 years old. During this time, 80 percent of the child’s brain develops, and it requires nurturing, caring, protection and health,” Peter said.

The network is also expected to improve the coordination of ECD services and planning from the national to state, county, and payam levels. Furthermore, it will increase focus on children aged 0–2 and 6–8, who have historically received less attention within broader ECD programs.

The initiative is led by the Science Teachers’ Initiative (STI), with Save the Children serving as co-chair and receiving technical support from the African Early Childhood Network (AfECN).

The establishment of the network follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed between STI and the Ministry of General Education and Instruction in March 2026.

Otieno Isaac, PDQ Director for Save the Children International, highlighted that a child’s development requires simultaneous attention to multiple areas, including health, nutrition, protection, and learning.

“For a young child, health, nutrition, protection and learning are inseparable. A child needs nourishing food, a caring adult, safety and opportunities to play and explore,” Isaac said.

He called for a collective commitment to ensure children receive the necessary support during their early years.

“Our collective responsibility is to make these essentials available from the earliest years, so that every child has the chance to grow and learn with confidence,” he said.

The next phase of the initiative will concentrate on strengthening ECD coordination structures at the sub-national level and developing localized approaches across the 10 states and three administrative areas.

State and sub-national leaders are expected to support the mapping of ECD actors, coordination of services, and decentralized strategic planning.

The forum is also anticipated to secure a shared commitment through the Juba Declaration on Early Childhood Development. This declaration aims to promote coordinated planning, implementation, and alignment of resources for early childhood development.

The establishment of the SSNECDN is expected to provide a framework for strengthening the coordination of ECD programs at state, county, and payam levels, ensuring that early childhood development is integrated into both national and local planning.