Governor of Kenya’s coastal County of Mombasa, H.E. Abdulswamad Sheriff Nassir, along his delegation, was in Addis Ababa , May 19-22, 2025, on a four-day leadership exchange visit to learn from the city’s best experiences of outstanding achievements of Early Childhood Development (ECD) Program.

The Governor accompanied by a delegation that comprises county’s cabinet members and advisors attended the leadership exchange, and the visit was jointly organized by the Addis Ababa City Administration Mayor’s Office Strategic Programs Management Office (SPMO) and the African Center for Early Childhood Development (AfC

In her welcoming address she gave at her office, the Mayor of Addis Ababa City Administration, H.E. Adanech Abiebie,

Indicating that Early Childhood Development (ECD) is one of her top priorities, the administration is transforming the city by creating child-friendly urban environment, adding that “Children: The Future Hope of Addis” aims to ensure that all children

According to H.E Mayor Adanech Abiebie , investing in early childhood is the most effective way to achieve long-term transformation and to meet the global target of ensuring that

The city’s ECD program specifically aims to benefit and intensify support to children 0-6 years old and their parents in 330,000 low-income households and reach the broader population of 1.3 million children that are in the same age group

Apart from the pre-school ECD services, Addis Ababa has deployed 5,000 trained parental coaches who make regular household visits to support parents and monitor children’s developmental milestones.

Moreover, the city administration has envisioned building 12,000 new playgrounds and 1,000 child daycare centers in the coming years.

Expanding access to pre-primary schools and transforming them into play-based learning facilities, establishing an ECD center of excellence, ensuring cross-sectoral

In connection with the Governor’s visit, the Mayor’s Office in its social media platforms stated that the discussions made with H.E Mayor have highlighted

During its four-day stay, the delegation visited key sites, including Addis’s public-financed child daycare centers and playgrounds, corridor-based urban transformation projects, pre-primary schools, health centers, parental coaches, clean water supply systems as well as solid waste management facilities. It will also engage in experience-sharing sessions with our city officials, the office added.