The County Government of Mandera, in partnership with the Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC) and the Aga Khan University Institute for Human Development (AKU-IHD), organised an inception meeting for the Multisectoral Technical Working Group (TWG) on Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE). The TWG comprises representatives from line ministries, State Departments, and development partners in Mandera County.
The session was facilitated by experts and senior leaders from FCDC and AKU-IHD, including Dr. Idle Farah, CEO of FCDC; Mr. Abdullahi Hassan, Sector Lead for Education at FCDC; Mr. Rabok, Sector Lead for Education at AKU-IHD; and Prof. Amina Abubakar, Director of AKU-IHD.
A key focus of the meeting was to orient the TWG on the Regional Early Childhood Development (ECD) Strategic Plan 2025–2030, jointly developed by FCDC and AKU-IHD. The strategy is aligned with the World Health Organization’s Nurturing Care Framework and provides a coordinated approach to strengthening ECD outcomes across the region.
Mandera County is among the four counties selected to pilot the implementation of the Regional ECDE Strategic Plan. During the meeting, the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Technical Working Group were reviewed and adopted, establishing a clear framework for the group’s coordination and implementation responsibilities.
The TWG was also tasked, through its leadership, with developing a first-quarter implementation work plan to guide the initial phase of the pilot programme.
Later, the team paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif, as part of efforts to strengthen engagement and reaffirm the commitment of the county leadership and development partners to advancing the ECDE agenda.