Dire Dawa, Ethiopia — The Dire Dawa Administration has unveiled a comprehensive Early Childhood Development (ECD) Roadmap for 2026–2030, setting out an ambitious strategy to ensure that every child in the city receives the care, protection, and learning opportunities needed to thrive from the earliest stages of life.
The newly crafted roadmap launched in January 2026, titled “Dire Dawa: A Loving City that Nurtures Child Development,” provides a strategic framework to promote the holistic development of children from conception to six years of age.
Aligned with Ethiopia’s National Early Childhood Development Strategy, the national education policy framework, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the roadmap outlines a five-year implementation plan designed to expand equitable access to integrated ECD services across the administration. Attention will be given to reaching children from vulnerable families to ensure that no child is left behind.
The vision of the roadmap is that by 2030 all children in Dire Dawa will achieve their full developmental potential. To realize this ambition, the administration plans to create an enabling environment where children’s rights, well-being, and protection are safeguarded while parents and caregivers receive the guidance and support necessary to nurture children during the early years.
Central to the strategy is the establishment of an integrated system that guarantees access to high-quality ECD services for all children from conception to age six. This will involve stronger partnerships among government institutions, communities, and development partners to ensure sustainable investments in early childhood programs.
Among the roadmap’s key targets is expanding access to pre-primary education, with the administration aiming to reach 90 percent enrollment for children aged four to six by 2030. The strategy also seeks to integrate ECD services into routine healthcare delivery in all public and private health facilities and ensure that at least half of young children have access to safe outdoor play spaces that support healthy development and learning.
The roadmap will be implemented through six strategic initiatives, including strengthening family counseling and social support systems, integrating ECD services within health service platforms, expanding childcare services, improving access to quality pre-primary education, increasing the availability of child-friendly playgrounds, and reinforcing multi-sectoral coordination mechanisms.
Officials say the initiative reflects growing recognition that investing in early childhood yields some of the highest social and economic returns for societies. By adopting a coordinated, inclusive, and child-centered approach, the Dire Dawa ECD Roadmap aims to improve children’s health, learning, and well-being while laying out a stronger foundation for the long-term development of both the city and the nation.
