BUJUMBURA, October 10th (ABP) – The Vice-President of the Republic of Burundi, Prosper Bazombaza, closed on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, in Bujumbura, the 5th edition of the high-level forum of women leaders, organized by the Office of the First Lady for Development in Burundi (OPDD-Burundi), under the theme “Investing in early childhood to build solid human capital throughout life”, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
In his speech, Mr. Bazombaza indicated that the Government of Burundi is committed to making the recommendations of that forum its own, and to implementing them.
He asked all delegations to take the forum’s key message about the need to invest in early childhood back to their home countries, in order to build solid human capital throughout life. He also asked the various organizations present at the forum to take note of the forum’s recommendations and disseminate them throughout the country, which could go some way to improving children’s education.
For her part, the First Lady of Burundi, Angeline Ndayishimiye, thanked the participants and experts for their valuable contributions. The fruitful exchanges they had had over the two days confirmed their unanimous desire to contribute to the well-being of Burundi’s children in particular, and those of the world in general.
“By investing in early childhood, we are building a foundation of human capital that will contribute to our Africa’s self-evident future. Together, we can build a better future for generations to come through innovative, multi-sectoral interventions in early childhood development,” she declared.
During the panel discussions, participants recommended that the government, through its sectoral ministries, organize a national dialogue on early childhood development. That will facilitate the continuity of discussions and exchanges on the implementation of the strategic plan for early childhood development at national level.
Capacity-building for coordinators of planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of early childhood development in the country, and an increase in the budget allocated to early childhood development at all levels were recommended during those exchanges. Raising awareness of the need to improve children’s diets and increasing school education structures throughout the country were also among the recommendations made.