The lack of political will and stakeholder commitments have been identified as major factors contributing to the challenges of early childhood education and development. Basic Schools, particularly kindergarten and primary schools, continue to face poor infrastructure deficit, inadequate teaching and learning materials, lack of Water, and Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities, among others. The Upper East Regional Early Childhood Development Committee made the observation and noted that the situation has adversely affected teaching and learning at the basic level posing significant challenges to the growth and development of children. The Committee, made up of stakeholders drawn from the Regional Coordinating Council, Departments of Gender, Children, Social Protection and Community Development, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Health Service, Environment and Sanitation unit, civil society organisations, among others, said this during the Committee's 2024 second quarter review meeting. It was organised by the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council with funding support from Children Believe, a Child-focused organisation and facilitated by the Department of Children. Mrs Georgina Aberese-Ako, the Acting Regional Director of the Department of Children, said early childhood education, especially at the crèche and kindergarten level, was the foundation of the child's growth and all efforts must be geared towards strengthening the sector. However, she said, over the years, stakeholders, including governments and local authorities, had not given the sector the needed attention to provide a conducive learning environment for children, especially those in rural areas. Mrs Aberese-Ako explained that the situation was even worse in the Upper East Region, where apart from schools' structures being in a deplorable state, posing risks to learners and many of the children laid on their bellies to write due to lack of furniture. She appealed to the government to prioritise childhood development by providing the needed i nfrastructure, especially to schools to ensure that every child everywhere had quality education. 'We need to intensify advocacy and sensitisation on the importance of education because when children, especially girls develop interest in school, they will stay in school and the issues of teenage pregnancy and child marriage among others will be reduced,' she added. Mr Charles Awuni, Upper East Regional Community-led Total Sanitation Focal Person at the Regional Environment Health and Sanitation Unit, said WASH facilities continued to be a major challenge in most schools and communities despite the efforts by various stakeholders. He said through the Community-Led Total Sanitation programme, many communities had benefitted from household latrines and hand washing facilities which was contributing to efforts of ending open defecation in the region. 'In the Binduri District, we have reached 30 communities with 81 latrines and 27 hand washing facilities (HWFs), in the Bongo District, we reached 45 communities with 205 latrines and 200 HWFs, in the Bawku West District, 30 communities, 307 latrines and 50 HWFs, in the Builsa South district, six communities, 95 latrines and 91 HWFs, in the Garu District, 30 communities, 225 latrines and 95 HWFs while in the Tempane district, 30 communities, 70 latrines and 76 HWFs,' he said. Ms. Portia Loggah, District Coordinator, Livelyminds, a non-government organisation, said the issue of child development required the collective responsibility of all stakeholders, including the government and parents. She said while it was imperative for the government to provide the needed infrastructure and teaching and learning materials, it was equally necessary for parents to invest in their wards' education by providing the learning and writing materials such as books, and textbooks among others for their children. The meeting afforded members of the Committee the opportunity to present some of the activities implemented over the period and observations made to inform future planning an d implementation. Source: Ghana News Agency