Nairobi: Nairobi County, in partnership with Kidogo Early Years (KEY), which focuses on affordable and quality childcare centres, has launched an Early Childhood Development (ECD) mapping tool. The tool, piloted by Community Health Promoters (CHP), aims to address childcare inequality while supporting informal caregivers.
According to Kenya News Agency, childcare stakeholders have raised concerns over the inequality of quality childcare among children in Nairobi County. There are significant disparities across neighborhoods, where access to quality early childhood care depends on geographical areas and income. Speaking in Machakos during the launch of the new mapping tool, Judy Macharia, Head of Community Health Services at Nairobi City County, highlighted that the tool was piloted by CHPs in the field and is part of broader efforts by Governor Johnson Sakaja to invest in the wellbeing of children. She cited the Dishi na County school feeding program as one of the flagship initiatives.
Macharia added that the county, through funding from the Big Win project, has trained CHPs on nurturing care, equipped care workers with skills in child development, and supported the creation of playgrounds and locally made toys. Additionally, they have trained teachers and caregivers on parental coaching and ECD. She noted that through the project, they have finalized training manuals for CHPs and healthcare workers and are now finalizing one for parents. Plans are in place to include informal daycare and childcare centers in the program to ensure all children access the same benefits and quality care.
‘Our role is to make sure the CHPs have been trained on nurturing care and child development and will be able to pass the knowledge to the households and informal daycares,’ said Macharia. She emphasized that the collaboration with KEY has been instrumental in convening stakeholders to review the tool’s performance and explore improvements. ‘We’re here to look at the results and see how we can strengthen the tool further,’ she said.
Elaine Washuka Hurt, Head of Policy and Partnerships at KEY, highlighted the inequality in quality childcare services in urban areas. Children in high-end neighborhoods like Runda and Westlands enjoy structured, nurturing care environments, while those in informal areas are often left in unsafe, unstimulating spaces. ‘In urban areas, we don’t have equality in terms of childcare provision; high-end areas, such as Runda, will have quality childcare provision, while in other informal communities, they end up leaving their children with whoever seems safest nearby,’ decried Washuka.
She noted that 60% of Nairobi’s population lives in urban informal communities, where parents must choose between earning a living and finding safe childcare. Washuka added that KEY has been working to train and support home-based caregivers through the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA). She emphasized the need for inclusive policies that recognize and uplift informal childcare providers and added that they are partnering with Nairobi County to align regulations in a way that empowers-not punishes-women running childcare spaces from their homes.
Further, Washuka noted that there are child caregivers from informal sectors who have worked for several decades and have a wealth of experience. She called on NITA to consider them for a professionalization certificate for caregivers based on their experience. The tool is expected to enhance data collection, improve service delivery, and ensure that even the most informal childcare spaces are included in Nairobi’s early learning ecosystem.
