Samoa signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 29, 1994, with the commitment under the Convention to enact necessary legislation to give domestic effect to the CRC. Samoa prioritizes all articles under the CRC with efforts in promoting and protecting the rights of children. There have been legislations and policies developed in Samoaโs efforts, such as the Infants Ordinance 1961, Samoa Family Safety 2013, Samoa Education Act 2009 and the pending Child Care and Protection Bill 2020. The current Samoa National Child Care and Protection Policy 2020-2030 sets out on the governmentโs priorities towards child care and protection, with emphasis on prevention, addressing current and emerging issues and challenges concerning the care and protection of the children in Samoa. Although it is an all-inclusive policy, it does not cover all priority areas in early childhood development hence the convening of the working group for Early Childhood Development.
The Ministry of Women Community and Social Development continued consultations for Savaii this week starting with community in the rural area on Monday 26th February, 2024, Urban Area on Tuesday 27th February, 2024 and a targeted focus group of Early Childhood Education Providers and parents on Wednesday 28th February, 2024 at the Apita Pisaga Hall.
Additionally, the consultation for the government and non โ government organizations was implemented on Friday 1st March, 2024 at the Tooa Salamasina Hall. The goal for these consultations are to identify what is happening now in our landscape of Early Childhood development in Samoa, identify opportunities to improve and inform the strategy.
The discussion during the consultations highlighted the prominence work that needs to be done for Early Childhood Development in Samoa. The need for full commitment from everyone; community, families, government organisations and all partners. Furthermore, there was an emphasis on how vital the strong collaboration and partnership in doing this work is for the development of Samoa; for every stakeholder to have mutual understanding of each otherโs work while working towards the goal for children of Samoa to reach their full potential.
