INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has collaborated with the Fijian Government in the designing of the country’s first early childcare policy which will benefit working families and businesses in Fiji.
Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Mereseini Vuniwaqa said good quality and affordable childcare were often lacking or not aligned with the family needs, values and income levels.
“Good quality, affordable childcare is often scarce, not aligned with family needs, values, working hours and income levels,” she said.
“Informal care often takes a parent, usually the mother or another female family member out of the paid job market. While men are three times more likely to be in leadership roles worldwide, women are three times more likely to do unpaid care work.
“As the population in urban centres rise, so does the need for better support for parents. Increasingly distanced from traditional village settings and family support structures, working parents are seeking reliable alternatives to entrust with their child’s care.”
IFC country representative to Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati and Tuvalu Deva De Silva said effective childcare policies needed to be a government and business imperative in order to realise economic gains.
“Increasing the availability of childcare can be an effective way to increase women’s access to employment and better jobs,” he said.
“This is especially important in Fiji right now given the economic impact of COVID-19 and recent tropical cyclones.”
Australian High Commissioner to Fiji John Feakes said the development of the early childcare policy would help promote economic opportunities for working parents.
“The development of a childcare policy and regulatory framework will pave way for quality and safe childcare services for children under the age of five, while also helping to reduce absenteeism and improve productivity.”
The agreement follows the establishment of the Early Childhood Care and Education Taskforce in 2019 under the National Coordinating Committee for Children that includes key government entities, non-government agencies, development partners and the private sector to provide oversight of policy work in this area.
