The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, in collaboration with the Ace Policy Research Institute (APRI) and Early Years Count Uganda (EYC), successfully held the Inaugural High-Level Policy Dialogue on Childcare as a Fundamental for Human Capital Development on Wednesday, May 15th, 2024,at Protea Hotel, Kampala. This high-level dialogue brought together key stakeholders to deliberate on the importance of quality childcare, identify existing gaps, share successful practices, and deliberate on policy recommendations to steer the implementation of childcare friendly policies and service delivery.
Childcare is pivotal in both social and economic progress for nations. Access to affordable and high-quality childcare services not only enables greater workforce participation, thereby fostering economic growth, but also lays the foundation for the early development of children, preparing them for more productive futures.
The benefits of expanded quality childcare services extend beyond the immediate to potentially
yielding multi-generational impacts by bolstering women’s economic empowerment, enhancing child development outcomes, improving family welfare, boosting business productivity, and ultimately driving overall economic growth.
Numerous families in Uganda lack adequate childcare options, hindering women’s employment opportunities, productivity, and income.This situation also compromises women’s empowerment and well-being while exposing many children to unsafe and unstimulating environments.
The government has shown commitment to enhancing childcare services through policy and legal frameworks, although there are challenges
in implementation. These challenges have led to fragmented efforts across various stakeholders,including governmental bodies, NGOs, development partners, and community-based initiatives. Addressing the challenges, complexities, and interconnections within Uganda’s childcare policy implementation necessitates a multi-sectoral approach, alignment of policies and cohesivestrategies across different ministries and organizations.
The inaugural high-level policy dialogue was as a crucial initial step to convene diverse stakeholders, to
lay the groundwork for a coordinated approach to advance childcare and early childhood development (ECD) in Uganda.
The high-level policy dialogue aimed to provide an opportunity to bring together stakeholders to initiate and elevate the discourse on childcare in Uganda.
