Multi-Sectoral Approach to Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development

Multi-Sectoral Approach to NCfECD Summary The Lake Region Economic bloc is home to approximately 2 million children below the 0-3 year age bracket. 40% of the children in the region are on developmental track while 60% of the children are not yet in track. The program focuses on interventions and initiatives that leverage the first 1000 days of a child as a window of opportunity to allow the child to survive, thrive and reach its full potential. The model provides a structured coordination mechanism that utilizes all platforms of service delivery as a lever for better ECD outcomes. The approach works with the realization that a child's Development relies on multiple inputs and no single department can deliver and that when each se tor works alone, the county experiences service gaps, duplicated efforts and wasted resources. A child's development depends on the convergence of the five pillars of the nurturing care framework of health, nutrition, opportunities for early learning, security and safety and responsive caregiving. Nurturing care is the centre of gravity and delivering the five inputs require seamless integration across National and Sub-National government departments or sectors.

Scope The multi-sectoral approach to Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development (NCfECD) in the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) counties in Kenya is an integrated intervention that brings together all the 10 county government sectors: health, nutrition, education, child protection, and social services to support holistic child development. It is implemented through initiatives such as the “Smart Start” program across 14 member counties: Bomet, Bungoma, Busia, Homa- Bay, Kakamega, Kericho, Kisii, Kisumu, Nandi, Nyamira, Migori, Siaya, Trans-Nzoia and Vihiga

Objectives: The approach aims to improve survival, growth, and developmental outcomes of children by strengthening coordination across sectors, enhancing caregiver capacity, and institutionalizing nurturing care within county systems. Specifically, it aims to enable the county government officials to

1. Understand how multisectoral approach works in real county scenarios
2. Identify all existing platforms for integration of ECD within the county
3. Define specific weekly activities within the community that promote Nurturing Care
4. Develop an integrated budget for the program
5. Support policies that institutionalize the approach to enable sustainability of the interventions

Target Group: Primary beneficiaries are children aged 0–8 years, especially within the first 1,000 days, alongside caregivers, families, and community structures.

Scope: The intervention is county-wide, involving government departments, civil society, academia, and community actors through Multi-Sectoral Teams (MSTs) and learning networks to ensure integrated service delivery.

Outcomes: Key outcomes include improved coordination of ECD services, increased caregiver knowledge, enhanced early learning and nutrition practices, and gradual improvements in child well-being indicators such as health-seeking behavior and responsive caregiving.

Lessons Learned Effective implementation requires strong political leadership, political good will, continuous capacity building, community engagement, and alignment with county planning frameworks. Cross-sector collaboration is essential but requires structured coordination mechanisms.

Opportunities for Scale: There is strong potential for scalability through integration into all the county government planning documents such as the County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs), the Annual Development Plans, The County Fiscal Strategy Papers, the Annual Work Plans. There is possible replication of successful models (e.g., Siaya Smart Start), strengthening sub-county systems, and leveraging partnerships with development agencies and networks for financing and technical support across all the LREB member counties. Overall, the approach is an innovative, system-strengthening intervention that positions counties to sustainably deliver holistic early childhood development services at scale. The final clarion call: If we change the beginning of the story, we change the whole story.