{"id":4179,"date":"2026-02-10T05:39:54","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T05:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/?page_id=4179"},"modified":"2026-02-10T07:49:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T07:49:47","slug":"education-and-early-childhood","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/amref.org\/kenya\/education-and-early-childhood\/","title":{"rendered":"Education and Early ChildHood"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Challenge<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The early years of life are critical for physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development, yet many children in Kenya do not receive the nurturing care they need to thrive. Gaps in early stimulation, responsive caregiving, developmental monitoring, and psychosocial support place children,\u00a0particularly those in underserved, refugee, and host communities\u2014at risk of poor health, delayed development, and reduced learning outcomes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

While Primary Health Care (PHC) services provide a vital entry point for reaching young children and caregivers, Early Childhood Development (ECD) is not consistently integrated into routine health services. Health workers and Community Health Promoters (CHPs) often have limited training and tools to\u00a0identify\u00a0developmental delays, support caregiver wellbeing, or promote early learning during routine contacts. As a result, opportunities for early intervention are\u00a0frequently\u00a0missed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Caregivers, especially mothers, also face\u00a0high levels\u00a0of stress, mental health challenges, and limited access to psychosocial support,\u00a0factors that directly affect their ability to provide responsive care. These challenges are compounded in fragile and humanitarian settings, where displacement, poverty, and trauma further undermine child development and caregiver wellbeing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Without coordinated, multi-sectoral action that embeds nurturing care within PHC systems, children at risk of developmental delays may remain invisible, and inequities in early childhood outcomes will persist across communities and counties.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Our Approach<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Amref\u00a0Health Africa works to ensure that children not only survive, but thrive, by integrating Early Childhood Development into Primary Health Care systems. Our approach is grounded in the Nurturing Care Framework and delivered through a multi-sectoral, community-centred\u00a0model.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

We strengthen the capacity of healthcare workers and CHPs to deliver nurturing care by supporting the adaptation and rollout of Care for Child Development and Caring for the Caregiver packages,<\/span><\/p>

tailored to the Kenyan context. These interventions promote early learning, developmental monitoring, responsive caregiving, and caregiver mental health.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Amref embeds ECD within routine PHC services and training curricula, ensuring sustainability and scale. In refugee and host and social-emotional learning interventions for children aged 0\u20133 years and their caregivers. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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We also support national and county governments to strengthen coordination, generate evidence, and develop action plans for nurturing care. By embedding ECD within PHC systems,\u00a0Amref\u00a0is transforming early childhood outcomes\u00a0laying\u00a0the foundation for healthier, more resilient communities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Projects Under Education and ECD <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Project<\/th>\r\n Counties of Implementation<\/th>\r\n <\/tr>\r\n <\/thead>\r\n
Tucheze Tustawi <\/td>\r\n Nairobi, Turkana <\/td>\r\n <\/tr>\r\n <\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Achievements <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Supported adaptation of Caring for Caregiver package for the Kenyan Context.<\/div>\r\n
Supported integration and roll-out of Nurturing Care for ECD in the CHPs Training Curriculum in 10 counties.<\/div>\r\n
Developed play-based mental health and psychosocial support and social emotional learning manual for children 0-3 years and caregivers in refugee and host communities. <\/div>\r\n
Strengthened national and county coordination mechanisms at the national MoH- Newborn and Child Health Section and in 3 Counties.<\/div>\r\n
Supported the adaptation of Care for Child Development package for healthcare workers. <\/div>\r\n
Trained 150 healthcare workers in Nairobi & Turkana Counties. <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Challenge The early years of life are critical for physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development, yet many children in Kenya do not receive the nurturing care they need to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"full-width.php","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":true,"footnotes":""},"yst_prominent_words":[2123,2083,40,514,553,554],"class_list":["post-4179","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n