The ECD programme aimed to improve the quality of existing early childhood development facilities and services in rural and urban unprivileged communities. It encouraged the establishment of new local ECD units, initiatives and service providers; and facilitated accessible and affordable early childhood development support for parents and children.

It promoted a culture of reading and storytelling by distributing screens, projectors and e-readers to ECD centres and community preschools. This enabled them to use the WorldReader library, which includes Arabic storybooks for children.

Building on AKDN’s global experience in ECD, which has proved the importance of education at the early stages of childhood, the programme focused on four areas:

1. on-the job training and capacity building for local ECD teachers and local governmental ECD education supervisors;


2. facility improvement and upgrading of physical space of existing preschools;


3. providing health assessments for children; and


4. parenting awareness and coaching on topics such as health, nutrition, child safety, brain development and the importance of play.