This was the first in a series of global webinars on ECD and climate change from the Early Childhood Regional Networks – AfECN, ANECD, ARNEC and ISSA and Global Early Childhood Network ECDAN.

This ARNEC conference aimed to bring about strong awareness among policy makers and practitioners of the substantial threats young children are facing due to the multiple crises that are affecting them, i.e., COVID-19, climate change and environmental degradation.

This virtual regional conference aimed to develop a common understanding of evidence-based solutions and further commitment towards supporting parents and caregivers of children and adolescents.

This meeting brought together over 140 participants from 18 Eastern and Southern Africa countries. Participants included government delegates from relevant ministries, national statistical offices, academia, WHO and UNICEF staff and partners.
The meeting concluded with the development of country-specific action plans to strengthen monitoring and evaluation of ECD.

WHO presented the Nurturing Care Framework for Early Childhood Development. Sheila Manji and Giorgio Tamburlini spoke about the importance of nurturing care for ensuring children and thrive. Giorigo provided examples from the Italian context on how they have operationalized the Nurturing care framework and are now working to strengthen the capacity of the workforce.

This ECDAN webinar aimed to help demystify the basic concepts of climate change, as well as processes like the UNFCCC, Conference of Parties (CoPs) and relevant frameworks like the Paris Agreement, 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the Sendai Framework for DRR.

In this webinar, a part of the COVID-19 Learning Series, the hosts (ECDAN) shared results from a scoping review on the nature and scope of the existing early childhood development evidence related to components of nurturing care for young children, including health, nutrition, child protection, opportunities for learning, and responsive caregiving.

The Hilton Foundation and Stellenbosch University presented an interactive webinar discussion on the challenges faced by young mothers, and potential solutions to provide them with effective support.

As part of this webinar, hosted by ECDAN, UNICEF and the UVA Humanitarian Collaborative, speakers shared key findings from the new Childcare in Humanitarian Crises brief, along with experiences from field implementation.

The goal of this webinar was to launch the Working Group on Fatherhoods, as part of ECDAN’s global initiative to support parents. The webinar serves as a stepping stone in the launch of the Working Group on Fatherhoods, and as its main objectives, the webinar sought to: elevate the work on fatherhood and male engagement in parenting being developed by various partners around the world; create shared alignment of all invited partners to establish international collaboration; and highlight advocacy work needed to encourage caregiving.