The South African government must recognise and realise every young child’s right to ECD. In a draft ECD framework put forward by the Centre for Law and Society, Nurina Ally and Tatiana Kazim write that the right to ECD includes the right to responsive caregiving; security, safety and a healthy environment; early learning; good health; adequate nutrition; cultural life; and the right to rest, play and leisure. All children and caregivers must be able to access the full package of services that flows from these rights. Caregivers who cannot afford to pay for these services must have these services funded by the state.
Expanding access to these services is just as important for women as it is for children, because it offers plentiful opportunities to upskill and develop the women-led care economy.
All of society, caregivers included, should be empowered to hold the government accountable to realise the right to ECD, which must be supported by law.
Our longer-term strategy, supported by the Department of Basic Education’s 2030 Strategy for Early Learning Programmes, is to secure the right to ECD through standalone legislation.
Currently, we are working with the Equality Collective and the Real Reform for ECD movement to develop a richer legal understanding of the right to ECD. We have expanded the concept to a holistic right that depends on several intersecting component rights being realised, including nutrition, social security, access to sanitation, water and electricity, and the right to play and learn. The right to ECD will form the foundation for future advocacy and legal work that will underpin standalone ECD legislation.
The draft ECD framework developed with Real Reform for ECD and the Centre for Law and Society was shared at a symposium in May 2025 to build public consensus around the right to development and ECD.