In Kenya, many young children face developmental challenges that impact their future, with those in informal settlements and underserved counties like Homa Bay and Isiolo particularly affected by poverty, malnutrition, and low access to healthcare and education services.
According to available evidence, up to 40% of children under five years in Kenya are at risk of developmental delays, a situation compounded by a lack of data on early childhood development (ECD) or barriers to its management. Currently, ECD data are managed disparately across various sectors, including health, education, and social protection, and they never get aggregated. This limits policymakers’ ability to make well-informed decisions about programming and resource allocation for ECD as a unified function.