Pacific ministers have reaffirmed their commitment to early childhood development (ECD) at the 2025 ECD Forum in Samoa.
Held in Apia from 13 to 15 May, the forum gathered leaders from 15 Pacific nations, including Tonga’s Minister for Education, Hon. Dr ‘Uhilamoelangi Fasi. The event focused on advancing the 2017 Pasifika Call to Action, emphasising culturally grounded, regionally led ECD strategies.
Samoa’s Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, highlighted the nation’s new 10-year ECD Framework, integrating health, education, and cultural identity. She urged attendees: “If we change the beginning of this story, we change the whole story”.
UNICEF Pacific Representative Jonathan Veitch stressed the importance of collective action: “Embracing a whole of region approach is not only about protecting our young children, but it also means shared support to stop cycles of poverty and under-development undermining the strength and stability of our societies”.
Tonga has made significant progress in ECD. The government increased per-child grants for early childhood education from $50 to $200 and established 46 government ECE centres, up from just five in 2019. A new play-based curriculum, “Learning through play the Heilala way,” has been rolled out nationally, training over 200 teachers. Tonga also piloted a School Readiness Tool to assess children’s preparedness for primary school.
Despite these advancements, challenges persist. Many parents remain unaware of ECE’s benefits, leading to low enrolment rates. To address this, the Ministry of Education plans to launch community outreach campaigns in 2025, highlighting data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, which shows a 15% developmental advantage for children attending ECE.
UNICEF
The 2025 Status Report presented at the forum noted progress in ECD since 2017 but acknowledged ongoing challenges, including child stunting, climate threats, and policy implementation gaps.
