Community-Based Early Childhood Development in Uganda, UNICEF, 2016

Communities across Uganda have been and are affected by conflicts that have implications on children. This has taken place in a context where Early Childhood Development (ECD) has had very limited regulation, guidance and involvement of the government, and has mainly been an urban phenomenon in the private sector of education.

In Uganda, ECD has become a flagship investment to promote children’s development, transition into primary education and fostering collaborative partnerships among local stakeholders to enhance social cohesion, protective communities and increase the perceived value of education. With UNICEF support, ECD has been a key element of Government of Uganda education policy since 2007, recognized in the Education Act of 2008, and its implementation and development has rapidly spread throughout the country. With the support of the Learning for Peace efforts were scaled up, and led to a quality enhancing intervention of MoESTS introducing a national learning framework and institutionalizing the community child care program within the national Primary Teachers’ Colleges.

UNICEF has implemented ECD programming in 28 Districts in Uganda in partnership with the three faithTbased organizations Church of Uganda, Muslim Supreme Council and the Catholic Secretariat. The present Evaluation and Learning Brief is based on a participatory evaluation carried out in April 2016 with the participation of implementing partners and District Education Officers from the target Districts.

Download the full brief: ECD District Evaluation and Learning Brief