This webinar, informed by both detailed case studies developed by the Aga Khan Development Network and UNICEF programme implementation in Zambia with the support of the LEGO Foundation, provided a unique opportunity to engage with and understand the experiences of government, development partners, civil society, frontline health workers, and parents in Eastern and Southern Africa. What has worked? What has been adapted? What has been learned? And, perhaps most importantly, what does this mean for parents and children?

In this webinar speakers discussed the implementation experiences and emerging lessons of COVID-19 response strategies of seven programmes that prioritize nurturing care and early childhood development in their work. Findings of this work are drawn from a recent qualitative Case Study report, carried out by FHI 360 with support from the LEGO Foundation and in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the LEGO Foundation.

In this webinar series various speakers provided an overview on how the World Bank works at global and national level to support early childhood.

In March 2021, the Africa Early Childhood Network (AfECN), World Health Organization and UNICEF organized a three-day virtual training for members of the Civil Society Forum on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (CSO Forum) on ECD and parenting.

With this webinar, the third in a series, ARNEC aimed to mobilise the ECD community in the region, particularly practitioners, policy makers, and advocates at the country level, to share local and/or country-level solutions which adapt nurturing care practices for ECD to the current realities and long-term effects of COVID-19.

This event marked the launch of the World Bank report, Better Jobs and Brighter Futures: Investing in Childcare to Build Human Capital. The report highlights the transformative potential of investments in childcare to increase women’s employment and productivity, create new jobs, improve child outcomes, drive economic growth and support a more resilient and inclusive recovery from the pandemic.

The Early Childhood Network Ghana and partners hosted this webinar for parents, caregivers and ECCD practitioners. Guest speaker, Professor Avi Sagi-Schwartz from the Centre for the study of child development at the University of Haifa, Israel, spoke on the importance of childrens’ attachment in times of crisis.

This seven week course began with a review of basic ECD concepts and implementation programmes around the world, and looked at why some programmes have succeeded where others have done less well. What strategies are key for enabling widespread adaptation of quality programming? For those working around the world in early childhood development programmes, the course allowed reflection and evaluation by reviewing real-world case successes, as well as a new global perspective from other learners.

On 25 to 26 February 2021, Burundi’s Ministry of Public Health and the Fight against AIDS, with the support of WHO, UNICEF, and the World Bank brought together government and non-governmental representatives from multiple sectors to establish a common understanding of ECD, generate momentum for working together, and solicit inputs for the multisectoral ECD strategy.

On 24 February 2021, the Ministry of Public Health and the Fight against AIDS, with the support of WHO, UNICEF, and the World Bank brought together the First Lady, Ministers, Parliamentarians, Mayor of Bujumbura, partners and funders for a meeting on early childhood development. The meeting highlighted the importance of investing in the early years for human capital and called on the government of Burundi to support finalization of a multisectoral ECD strategy centred around the concept of nurturing care.