The Stakeholders’ consultation to operationalize the Nurturing Care Framework by the health sector took place from 14-16 October 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Country delegations from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe met for three days to share experiences and develop plans to take forward implementation of the Nurturing Care Framework. The meeting was co-convened by WHO, UNICEF, and PATH. Over 90 participants representing government, UNICEF, WHO, multilaterals, bilaterals, foundations, and civil society were inspired and shared many best practices. The country delegations discussed and emphasized on the critical importance of the following key actions:
1. Integrate nurturing care into existing programmes, services, and funding platforms, and use entry points across the life course to deliver interventions for early childhood development.
2. Establish or strengthen coordination mechanisms within and between relevant sectors to jointly plan, implement and monitor comprehensive packages of interventions for nurturing care.
3. Through high-level advocacy, build political commitment and ownership to institutionalize ECD as an essential investment for overall national growth and development.