The Governor of Mombasa County, Kenya, and his executive team visited Addis Ababa to explore the thinking behind the city’s innovative Future Hope of Addis early childhood development program. This Exchange was facilitated by the African Center for Early Childhood Development.
During the visit, Mayor Adanech Abebe of Addis Ababa shared her journey in prioritizing early childhood development, particularly for children from vulnerable households. She reflected on how her personal and political commitments to advance ECD in the city had transformed the approach taken by the city’s agencies. The mayor highlighted that for Addis, parental coaching at the household level had turned out to be the most cost-effective way to reach over a million children. The City Administration recruited, trained and deployed 5,000 parental coaches to drive this initiative. She also shared the decision-making process that led to the city prioritizing access to playgrounds, daycare centers and play-based pre-primary schools.
Reflecting on the exchange, the Mombasa delegation identified key strategies that could be implemented in their county. They were particularly inspired by the emphasis on nurturing care and early stimulation through parental coaching and expanded access to safe play and learning environments.
