In South Africa, access is a major issue. Fewer than one sixth of the 6.4 million children of the ages 0-7 in South Africa have access to an ECD programme or facility. Civil society organisations have long been advocating for an increased emphasis on ECD; however, the public provision of ECD in South Africa is complex, falling between the departments of Social Development, Health and Education.
While ECD has a rich history of innovation and is filled with pockets of excellent and effective practice both from the public sector as well as from private providers, much of this has been uncoordinated and hampered by confusions around policy and accountability.
Recognising this, the government began to prioritise ECD and confirm it as a public good by passing the National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy through its Cabinet in 2015. This is the first time since our democracy that South Africa has a comprehensive policy for very young children. Current policy developments tackle issues of coordination and integration across different aspects of ECD provision, services and standards.