Over 1,100 childcare practitioners have been trained in Early Childhood Development to provide safe and nurturing environments for children.
Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr Vindhya Persaud, announced the achievements as she addressed the opening of the second National Early Childhood Development Conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) on Wednesday.
Dr Persaud highlighted that the Women Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN), along with the Childcare and Protection Agency, has also trained more than 6000 persons in childcare over the past five years.
“As we build, we must also build human capacity, and we have been passionate about that at the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, making sure that we equip you with the skills to deliver the best care to our children,” Dr Persaud emphasised.
In addition, the government’s new Co-Invest Initiative will contribute to the radical transformation of childcare in Guyana and is expected to train some 459 persons to offer home-based or community-based care in several regions.
The government has invested $1.2 billion towards the initiative to ensure there are home and community-based care centres in every region.
Meanwhile, the conference brought together stakeholders to reinforce the country’s national framework for early childhood care, underscoring the critical need to provide safe, nurturing, and supportive environments for the nation’s youngest citizens.
It was organised by the ministry’s Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) in partnership with UNICEF and the Government of Canada.
The conference is themed “It Takes a Village: Uniting Hearts and Minds for Early Childhood.