Prioritizing Childcare in Emergencies: IRC at the Africa Conference on Childcare

Prioritizing Childcare in Emergencies: IRC at the Africa Conference on Childcare

Africa Childcare conference delegates pose for a group photo. 

From June 18-20, IRC participated in the Africa Conference on Childcare, held at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa— a powerful gathering of policymakers, practitioners, advocates and researchers committed to transforming childcare systems in Africa.   

During this conference, the Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager for Kulea Watoto, Godfrey Mwesigye, presented lessons from the Kulea Watoto project in a session focused on childcare in crisis settings. This session highlighted the urgent need to prioritize safe, responsive, and accessible childcare services during emergencies and humanitarian crises. The session explored the unique challenges faced in crisis contexts and shared strategies for ensuring continuity of care and protection for young children and their caregivers when needed most.

In times of conflict, disaster and forced displacement, the needs of the children are often overlooked, yet they are the most vulnerable.   Innovative models, such as the two-generation approach used by Kulea Watoto, show great potential for addressing the issues of childcare in the crisis settings because they address the needs of both the children and their caregivers.

The key takeaways for the conference are —there is an urgent need for investing in integrated, context-sensitive childcare solutions in humanitarian settings, innovative childcare models and local leadership are critical for better childcare outcomes and there is need for African governments to appreciate cross-sector collaboration — from health and education to social protection. 

The conference ended with a call-to-action tasking member states to develop and implement supportive policies that promote investment in childcare services, ensure that quality, accessibility, and affordability are prioritized for all, particularly for marginalized populations, including children with disabilities and those in fragile or humanitarian contexts.  

Godfrey Mwesigye, presenting insights from Kulea Watoto at the conference