Investment in young children in Liberiais a critical aspect to Liberia's development agenda.While progress is being made, greater momentum is needed toensure that young children develop and thrive alongphysical, cognitive, language and socio-emotionaldimensions. The quality and quantity of early experiences inthe first thousand days lay the foundation forchildren's brain development, which includes goodnutrition, early stimulation, and safe and secureenvironments. Healthy brains in turn influence health andeducation outcomes in subsequent years which translates intoeconomic growth. Investments in early experiences yieldbetter health, better school readiness, and higher academicperformance which in turn leads to higher economicproductivity. The pathway to early childhood development(ECD) starts in utero, therefore, investments in pre-natalservices and healthy pregnancies are the starting points tohealthy childhoods and productive adulthood. Investment inthe early years is a proven gateway to a country'seconomic growth and development. To reap full benefits ofECD investments, it is critical to start early and integrateprograms across health, nutrition, education, and social orchild protection sectors. Over the past three decades,Liberia made some improvements in the well-being of theyoungest in the country. Despite progress, coverage ofservices remains low across the ECD continuum fromconception through birth to child health and pre-schoolpackages. To conclude, existing guidelines for center orfacility-based delivery of ECD services should be reviewedand revised to ensure integration of services.
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