Dr. Maurice Mutisya, Director of Research at Zizi Afrique, and Ms. Lydia Oyugi, Program Officer for Early Childhood Development (ECD), delivered a comprehensive presentation based on research conducted on political analysis in ECD and school re-entry in four counties, including Siaya County.
The research aimed to identify key levers for improving service delivery, particularly for children aged 0–3 years, and to document strategic policy and programmatic interventions in Kenya. It focused specifically on how these interventions address child development through Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development. Over the past decade, Kenya has shown general improvements in ECD performance indicators, with 78% of children aged 24–59 months developing on track in health, learning, and psychosocial well-being.
However, the high prevalence of adolescent pregnancies remains a significant barrier to nurturing care for children aged 0–3 years. Most children of adolescent mothers do not receive adequate responsive caregiving. The research highlighted limited political goodwill, which manifests in various forms, such as delays in decision-making for fast-tracking ECD-related policies and inadequate budgetary allocation and expenditure to achieve ECD program goals.
The home and family are the primary sources of support and resources for teenage mothers and their children. To ensure all children reach their full developmental potential, there is a need to harness existing capacities and foster political goodwill to address key barriers to service delivery. This requires coordinated action among state and non-state actors. Furthermore, building a robust evidence base is essential to inform ECD planning and budgeting, particularly by making a compelling political case for investing in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.
In attendance were Siaya County First Lady, Mrs. Betty Orengo, and County Executive Committee Members (CECMs): Dr. Edgar Otumba (Education, Youth Affairs, Gender, and Social Services), Mr. Sylvester K’Okoth (Agriculture, Food Security, Livestock, and Blue Economy), Madam Grace Agola (Trade, Enterprise, Cooperatives, and Industrialization), and Dr. Martin K’Onyango (Health and Sanitation).