Nigeria, Dec. 3 -- Northern Nigerian governors have declared early childhood development the region's most urgent priority, endorsing a coordinated investment plan for the "first 2,000 days" of a child's life amid warnings that continued neglect could cement another generation of poverty and low learning outcomes across the North.

The resolution followed a two-day emergency joint meeting of the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) in Kaduna, where the leaders met with a high-level World Bank delegation as part of ongoing national consultations on strengthening Nigeria's human capital agenda.

Globally, the first 2,000 days, from conception to age five, are recognised as the most consequential period for brain formation, physical growth and lon...