… Unites with 1000+ young African campaigners to call for more funding for Africa’s 200 million under-fives
By Wuraola Oyedokun
An Ibadan-based education activist, Halimat Omowumi Olaniyan, has united with more than a thousand young African campaigners to call for increased funding for preschool education.
To mark the Day of the African Child on June 16, Halimat Olaniyan, 27, has joined more than 1,500 Global Youth Ambassadors from the global children’s charity Theirworld to demand urgent support for Africa’s youngest learners.
The youth activist calls for more investment in preschool education to stop children in Africa from falling behind.
According to her, ‘’Numerous studies have shown that pre-primary education is crucial to a child’s development and that children who miss out on early years learning fall behind others even before they start primary school.
‘’But the latest figures show that only 2.3 per cent of education budgets in Sub-Saharan Africa is committed to pre-primary education’’.
The youth activists want African Union countries to commit to investing at least 10 per cent of education budgets to preschool education by 2030, a target agreed by more than 140 countries in 2022.
In a letter to the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, Olaniyan lamented that too many children across Africa are being denied their basic right to preschool education, widening the inequality gap between the rich and the poor.
“The foundations of a thriving, prosperous education begin in the early years. Children who have access to high-quality preschool education start primary school with strong foundational skills in literacy and math and have higher earning potential as they grow up,” the letter reads.
“The evidence is clear. Investing in early years is more than a moral obligation; it’s an economic booster, an equaliser, and a foundation for regional stability. It’s about laying the groundwork for a fair, prosperous, and sustainable future.”
The letter has been coordinated by Theirworld as part of its Act For the Early Years campaign, which is calling for a revolution in the care and education of children worldwide.
On the Day of the African Child, the global charity is mobilising its network of more than 1,500 Global Youth Ambassadors across the continent to call for greater investment in preschool education.
Halimat Olaniyan, a Global Youth Ambassador for Theirworld, said:“I am advocating for Africa’s youngest children because quality early education laid the groundwork for my academic and career achievements. I want every child in Nigeria to have the same, if not better, opportunities. A weak foundation undermines the entire structure, and this weak foundation can lead to higher hurdles for Nigerian students internationally.
“Every child deserves access to quality learning opportunities from the earliest years. To achieve this, we need the government to commit to investing 10 per cent of the education budget in early childhood education. This includes ensuring proper training for teachers and monitoring. Together, we can build a brighter future for all our children.”
In a remark, Justin van Fleet, President of Theirworld, said: “I support the call to action by African youth to prioritise younger learners with high quality preschool education. The current lack of investment is leaving millions of children behind from the start, denied the chance to fulfil their potential.”
Halimat Olaniyan is passionate about child and adolescent health and has demonstrated this through her voluntary work with local and international organisations. She has provided leadership training and sexual and reproductive health awareness to adolescents from underserved communities. She founded the AFAY Health Initiative, a youth-led initiative where she advocates for health, education, and the environment. She holds a BSc from the University of Ilorin and an MPH in Child and Adolescent Health from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She is a Researcher, a Project Manager and Youth Leader.
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