Give every child the benefit of early childhood development.

Investment in young children may be the single greatest opportunity to escape the inequality trap. We know that children are imbued with potential, but for most of South Africa’s children – more than 60%17 of whom are multi-dimensionally poor – this potential is constrained by a constellation of social, psychological, economic and political factors. They are stuck in a cycle of poverty that limits social mobility. The first five years of a child’s life lay the groundwork for their lifelong development – a crucial period where access to early learning, good nutrition, care and safety can set a child on a pathway of compounding positive effects as they enter school and beyond.

DGMT invests in programmes that seek to scale access to quality early learning and prioritises the public demand for early learning. This is done through advocacy and stakeholder engagement; unlocking opportunities for increased government financing; supporting innovations that improve access to data and support data-driven decision making; and working with our coalition partners (including funders, academics, NGO partners, training organisations, implementers and corporate allies) to formalise an ECD agency within a public–private partnership that will focus on increased coordination and leadership across the sector.

Our support for programmes aims to strengthen socio-economic networks in the informal sector (e.g. childminder and early learning sites that do not yet receive state subsidies), and strengthen their interface with government to ensure progressive formalisation, quality assurance and financing.

five-year aim:

› Ensure that 2 million children aged 0–5 have access to subsidised early learning programmes by 2027 (effectively trebling access to public financing).

ALL CHILDREN ON TRACK BY GRADE 4