OPPORTUNITY FOR A PROGRAMME OFFICER!!

AfECN   would like to recruit a Programme Officer to support its work in strengthening multisectoral advocacy and sub-regional coordination mechanism in WCAR.  The broader tasks include i) supporting stronger engagement of regional and national ECD partners; contributing to improved organizational and advocacy capacities of National Advocacy Partners (NAPs); increased knowledge generation on Early Childhood Education and dissemination across the region.

Contract: 1 year (Renewable based on performance and availability of funds)

Working Hours: Full time – 37.5 hours a week

Location: Dakar, Senegal

Application procedure: Interested candidates who meet the desired qualifications should submit cover letter, Curriculum Vitae (CV), motivation statement (max 2 pages), testimonials, copies of academic transcripts as a single PDF document to careers@afecn.org. Only successful candidates will be contacted.

Application Deadline: 22nd August 2023

Improving early childhood development in the context of the nurturing care framework in Kenya: A policy review and qualitative exploration of emerging issues with policy makers

The Nurturing Care Framework (NCF) describes “nurturing care” as the ability of nations and communities to support caregivers and provide an environment that ensures children's good health and nutrition, protects them from threats, and provides opportunities for early learning through responsive and emotionally supportive interaction. We assessed the extent to which Kenyan government policies address the components of the NCF and explored policy/decision makers' views on policy gaps and emerging issues. Read More…

A call for stories: Implementation of childcare care practices

Closing date: Friday 23rd April 2021

The African Early Childhood Network (AfECN) is documenting childcare practices across the African region. This multi-country documentation aims at drawing attention to progress made, programme challenges, opportunities, and gaps in designing and implementing childcare programmes for children under age three (3) years. These efforts are aimed at shining a spotlight on the areas that need more attention and intervention by the early childhood development community and development partners.

Still interested? We invite you to share your journey, regarding how you have designed and implemented child-care programmes in your community and beyond. This is a chance to have your voice amplified nationally, regionally, and globally through AfECN platforms. The stories will be disseminated through our new and exciting Knowledge hub, a platform where you can find ECD materials and meet like-minded individuals and organizations.

Please submit your story to info@afecn.org by Friday 23rd April 2021. AfECN’s team of experts will then schedule a 20 minutes’ follow-up call with you/your representative to ensure that your story is well documented. Please indicate which day and time would best suite you for the follow-up call between 26th – 30th April, as you submit your childcare practice or story.

Please use the following key questions to guide the sharing of your story. Kindly keep your submission to a maximum of 650 words (one to three pages transcribed in word, single-spaced in font size 12), in the language you are most comfortable with

English French

Young children in Kenya prisons making headlines

PRISON CHILDREN Over 200 children in prisons and cannot be separated from their mothers

There are at least 200 children aged below 4, who were either born in prison or are still too young to be separated from their mothers who are serving their sentence. Children in prison have often been referred to as forgotten victims of crime, and the invisible victims of crime and the penal code. At the Lang’ata women’s prison, a daycare centre is offering a conducive environment for children in their early stage of development. One which shields them from the dangers of being raised solely in the environment behind bars.

Courtesy Citizen: Dorcas Wangira dissects the new report: victims of the penal code

Early Years Matter - Video

A staggering 2 out of every 3 children in Africa live in extreme poverty with inadequate nutrition, in unstable communities, lacking social services for family and caregiver support. These children suffer poor developmental outcomes, reduced productivity and are less able to help their own children grow and develop.  

Let us change this story by collaborating with all key stakeholders to: 

1. Build on positive community and cultural practices that support child development

2. Strengthen service delivery systems and co-ordination across sectors at all levels

3. Develop and implement policies that support nationwide access to quality services for all children.

There is much to be done and it begins with each one of us

The AfECN Secretariat sincerely appreciates our supporters for their continued support: Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, The Open Society Foundation, UNICEF and WHO

Global Launch Smart Scaling of Pre-primary Education: Launching the Global ECE Accelerator Toolkit

Smart Scaling of Pre-primary Education: Launching the Global ECE Accelerator Toolkit

The importance of quality early childhood education is reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals, as target 4.2 calls for access to quality pre-primary education for all children. To achieve this ambition, one vital solution is to ensure that pre-primary education is systematically integrated into the national cycles of education sector planning and policy implementation.

This webinar, co-organized by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), UNICEF and ECDAN, will provide insights into this innovative approach and launch the global ECE Accelerator Toolkit to support countries with effective planning and implementation of ECE programs. The vision is to engage more countries and partners in this approach, put to use the global toolkit and learn from countries’ ongoing efforts and successes.

Register here for the event. 

Building Back Better: Stories of Hope And Resilience 6

Governments around the world should pay attention to play. By doing so, they get to do the proverbial ‘killing of two birds with one stone’. Play is the right of the child, supported by both the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the international Convention on the Rights of the Child. It’s also a pathway to boosting children’s development, promoting lifelong… read more

WEBINAR SERIES ON PLAYFUL PARENTING ONGOING

This will be a three-part webinar series on Playful Parenting. Each webinar will be conducted from 3 pm - 4:30 pm EAT and translated accordingly in

English, Portuguese and French, as follows:

• In partnership with the CSO Forum AfECN will launch the first of the four-part Playful Parenting webinar series on 25th November 2020, themed ‘The Child’s Right to Play’.

• The first-part webinar will be held in partnership with UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO) office, on 2nd December 2020 will be themed “Building systems to support the child’s Right to Play

• The second -part webinar will be held in partnership with UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office WCARO will be themed ‘Playful, Joyful Parenting at Home’.

Read More…

Building Back Better: Stories of Hope And Resilience 5

The onset of COVID-19 has been described by Jaime Saavedra, Global Director for Education, as the “largest simultaneous shock to all education systems in our lifetimes” (World Bank 2020). The resultant lockdowns and school closures have exacerbated a…Read More