The findings of a Developmental Milestone Assessment conducted among children living in both rural and urban areas of the Dire Dawa Administration revealed that the ECD Implementation Program show encouraging results.
The assessment was conducted by the African Centre for Early Childhood Development (AFC-ECD) and examined the developmental progress of children under the age of three and those aged 3–6 years across key domains, including physical, cognitive, language, social, and socio-emotional development.
The dissemination event brought together the Mayor’s Social Sector Advisor, education bureau officials, representatives from the Women and Children Affairs Bureau, ECD focal persons, supervisors, and technical experts responsible for program support and supervision.
According to this study, a comparison with the April 2024 baseline data highlights notable progress over the past two years. Overall child development improved, with the proportion of children developmentally on-track children rising from 80.8% to 83.75%, Improvement was particularly revealed among 6-year-old children’s readiness for primary school. The students at the mastery level more than doubled according to this study by increasing from 32% to 66.67%.
This result shows significant improvements in children’s developmental outcomes, providing valuable evidence to inform future policy development, curriculum design, and child-focused support programmes within the administration.
The presentation concluded with an engaging discussion, during which participants agreed to build on the identified strengths and work collaboratively to address the gaps highlighted by the assessment.
The study is expected to make a significant contribution to strengthening the implementation and effectiveness of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme in the Dire Dawa Administration.
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