Our Vision

An Africa where all children are learning, safe, healthy, happy and are achieving their full potential.

Our Mission

To serve as a platform for collaboration in protecting children’s rights through influencing ECED policies, programmes, and practices.

Our Core Values

Accountability – A dedication to integrity
focus – A single mindedness on improving child outcomes
Excellence – a commitment to quality
Creativity – an obligation to continuously searching for new solutions
Nurturing– An unwavering commitment to strengthening collaboration

What is ECD?

Early Childhood Development, or ECD, is a holistic set of multi-sectoral services and programmes that support a child's development from prenatal to age eight. These include:

• nurturing care;

• healthcare;

• clean water and sanitation;

• nutrition;

• play and early learning;

• and child protection

What We Do

AfECN works to increase access to quality ECD services through five Core Programme Areas:

1. Regional Advocacy
2. National Networking
3. Implementation Research
4. Quality Improvement

How We Work

The Africa Early Childhood Network brings together national and regional civil society organizations and networks, academia, entrepreneurs, and the private sector, in a collaborative effort towards improving outcomes and creating increased access to quality ECD services for all children in sub-Saharan Africa. The network works to build and support communities of practice in key areas such as advocacy, research, leadership, and information exchange.

Prof. Mary Getui
Board Chair

Professor Mary Getui is a dedicated academic and leader who currently serves as the Chairlady of the Board for the African Early Childhood Network. With a deep commitment to early childhood development, she plays a vital role in supporting the network’s mission to improve the lives of young children across Africa. With a background in education, religious studies/theology, and a particular focus on ethics, African philosophy, and culture, Professor Getui brings a unique perspective to early childhood education. Her understanding of cultural sensitivities allows her to shape initiatives that address the diverse needs of children across the continent, promoting inclusive and holistic development. Beyond her academic expertise, Professor Getui has made significant contributions to curriculum development and educational policy. She has actively participated in shaping policies that prioritize the well-being of young children, ensuring that evidence-based strategies are at the core of the network’s work. Professor Getui is also a strong advocate for gender equality and women's empowerment, working to ensure that early childhood development programs are gender-responsive and provide equal opportunities for all children. Her efforts to foster a more inclusive environment are a testament to her dedication to creating a future where every child has the chance to thrive. Through her international collaborations and participation in global discussions, Professor Getui helps to raise the profile of the African Early Childhood Network, forging partnerships and securing resources to support the network’s initiatives. In her role as Chairlady, Professor Getui continues to guide the network with her knowledge, passion, and leadership, shaping the future of early childhood education across Africa and leaving a lasting impact on the lives of children throughout the continent.

Lynette Okengo
Executive Director

Dr. Lynette Okengo is the Founder and Executive Director of the African Early Childhood Network. A passionate advocate for early childhood development, family empowerment, and community growth, Dr. Okengo has built a distinguished career by shaping policy, designing impactful programs, and leading efforts for systemic change in early childhood education across the African continent. Her current focus is on nurturing African talent to drive transformative change, particularly in underserved communities, while amplifying the voices of grassroots advocates to foster sustainable, community-led progress. Prior to her work with AfECN, Dr. Okengo worked variously as Senior Technical Advisor and Consultant for leading international organizations, including the Open Society Foundations, the World Bank, UNICEF, PATH, and Save the Children. In these capacities, she collaborated closely with governments, Civil Society Organizations, and other key stakeholders to design and implement policies and programs that address regional challenges and improve outcomes for vulnerable populations. Dr. Okengo is actively engaged in leadership roles across several boards. She serves as Co-Chair of the Executive Leadership Council for the Early Childhood Development Action Network and is a member of the International Advisory Committee for the Act for Early Years Campaign. She also serves in the Advisory Committee for the African Center for Early Childhood Development, an initiative established by the Addis Ababa City Administration.

Prof. Linda Richter
Board Member

Professor Linda Richter (PhD) is a Distinguished Professor and the Inaugural Director of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) - National Research Foundation (NRF) Centre of Excellence in Human Development at the University of the Witwatersrand. She has held visiting positions at the University of Melbourne, Harvard University, and the University of Oxford. From 2010-2012 she worked as Advisor on Vulnerable Children at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Geneva. Prof. Richter has conducted both basic and policy research in the fields of child, youth and family development as applied to health, education, welfare and social development, and has published more than 450 papers and chapters. She led the research, consultation and drafting of South Africa’s National Integrated Early Child Development Programme, which was adopted by Cabinet in 2015. In 2016, she chaired the Steering Committee for the production of the Lancet series on early child development: Advancing Early Child Development: From Science to Scale. She also initiated and co-leads Global Data to Advance Young Children’s Learning and Development and the ECD Countdown to 2030 country profiles. Linda is a member of the Council of the Academy of Science of South Africa.

Aster Haregot
Board Member

Aster Haregot is a Founder Member of the African Early Childhood Network and currently an independent international consultant: consulting assignments for international development Partners, working directly with government Ministries and policy makers, including providing advisory support on national ECD policy and strategic development.  Assignments also include supporting international development agencies in ECD capacity building and mentoring of staff. Prior to that she was the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI) advisor and the regional ECD advisor for UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.  Ms Haregot is an Educator by profession and has worked for UNICEF from 1985 to 2011. Before being posted to Nairobi, she was in UNICEF HQ, New York and managed the multi country girls' education initiative known as the African Girls' Education Initiative (AGEI). Ms Haregot has advocated, documented best practices, coordinated and initiated capacity building programmes, advocated for the establishment of community-based programmes, publications and initiated research studies in Early Childhood Development and Girls' Education in UNICEF and she has vast experience in ECD having been a pioneer of the Early Childhood programme in the Eastern and Southern Africa region. Prior to that she worked for the Head Start programme in the US and the Ministry of Education and Children’s’ Commission in Ethiopia.  Aster holds a Master of Education from Rutgers University, Rutgers, NJ and has attended Special Trainings in Adult Education, Education Strategic Planning graduate courses, Columbia Teachers College, 1995; Education Policy Analysis: HIID, Harvard University, 1996

Joan Lombardi
Emeritus Advisor

Joan Lombardi, Ph.D. is the director of the Early Opportunities Initiative and a Senior Advisor and Adjunct Professor at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, Graduate School of Education Stanford University and a Senior Fellow at the Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues, Georgetown University.  Her current activities focus on three critical issues:   addressing intergenerational poverty through multi-generational services and policies and lifting up community solutions, raising awareness of the impact of environmental issues on young children and families, and speaking out on behalf of peace and justice in the face of conflict and displacement. Over the past 50 years Joan has made significant contributions in the areas of child and family policy as an innovative leader and policy advisor to national and international organizations and foundations and as a public servant. Joan has served as an advisor to a range of organizations including UNICEF, WHO, UNESCO, and The World Bank Group, among others. She currently directs The Early Opportunities Initiative, advancing the well-being of young children and families around the world through mentoring, writing, resource sharing and advisement to philanthropy. She serves on the governing boards of The Global Fund for Children and the National Black Child Development Institute, the Executive Leadership Council of the Early Childhood Development Action Network and the International Advisory for the Act for Early Years Campaign, coordinated by Their World. Joan served as the first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood during the Obama Administration and the first Director of the Child Care Bureau during the Clinton Administration. She was the founding Chair of the Birth to Five Policy Alliance (now the Alliance for Early Success).  She is the author of Time to Care: Redesigning Child Care to Promote Education, Support Families and Build Communities and co-editor of Beacon of Hope: The Promise of Early Head Start for America’s Youngest Children.

Prof. Kofi Marfo
Emeritus Advisor

Kofi Marfo, PhD is a Founder Member of the African Early Childhood Network; Professor and Founding Director of the Institute for Human Development at Aga Khan University where he is co-leader of an initiative to support child development research capacity-building in Africa and is a co-convener of the African Scholars in Child/Early Child Development Workshop series. He is a member of the Governing Council of the Society for Research in Child Development and serves in advisory roles for two private foundations with substantial investments in early childhood development. Previously, Professor Marfo taught educational psychology for more than two decades at the University of South Florida, holding leadership positions such as Director of the Doctoral Program in Special Education, and Director of the Interdisciplinary Post-Doctoral Fellowship Program in School Restructuring. He has worked as a researcher and lecturer in a number of universities across the globe including University of Cape Coast, Ghana, the University of Alberta, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, and Kent State University. Professor Marfo has been published extensively in the areas of early childhood intervention, childhood disability, parent-child interaction, and early childhood development and has been cited across these disciplines in over 180 different journals worldwide. Professor Marfo holds a PhD in Education from the University of Alberta.