Nigeria Advances ‘Ready by Five’ Early Childhood Development Agenda

Nigeria is advancing an integrated early childhood development agenda aimed at ensuring every child receives coordinated support in health, nutrition, responsive caregiving, early learning and protection during the critical first years of life.

Representing Vice President Kashim Shettima, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development said the government is moving away from fragmented interventions towards a comprehensive approach that ensures children are reached across all essential services — with the goal of having every Nigerian child “Ready by Five.”

The agenda was further presented by Dr. Ado J.G. Muhammad, Federal Coordinator, Human Capital Development 2.0, at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The Ready by Five framework focuses on the first 2,000 days, from conception to age five, and is built around five pillars of nurturing care: good health, adequate nutrition, responsive caregiving, early learning and safety and security.

While 98 per cent of Nigerian children under two are reached by at least one intervention, only 7.4 per cent receive half of the services they are entitled to. The initiative therefore seeks to move beyond simply reaching children to ensuring each child receives a coordinated package of services.

Implementation will leverage existing community platforms across 8,809 wards, including primary healthcare centres, early childcare facilities, women’s groups, markets and farms.

A proposed integrated child-data system will link digital identity with health, education, social protection and civil registration records, enabling government to track services received by each child and identify those being missed.

The programme is now moving towards implementation, with states developing investment plans ahead of the budget cycle while government and development partners refine costing and delivery mechanisms.

The Emir of Kano, HRH Sanusi Muhammad II, called for stronger collaboration with traditional institutions, saying their knowledge of local communities makes them critical to effective grassroots implementation.

The event brought together senior government officials, including the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, the Governor of Borno State and Minister of State for Budget and National Planning Doris Uzoka-Anite, alongside development partners, including the World Bank.

The stakeholders reaffirmed support for the Ready by Five agenda, which seeks to strengthen the foundations of Nigeria’s human capital by ensuring every child enters school healthier, better nourished, protected and prepared to learn