Scaling Up Early Childhood Development in Zambia: Calendar Year 2019 Report

The project aims to improve early childhood development outcomes in Zambia by scaling up community-based parenting groups and distributing culturally relevant children's books. The project was launched in January 2019 and is scheduled to run until January 2022. The implementation phase began in July 2019 and will continue for 30 months. During the formative phase, RTC-Z became an active member of the Child Health Technical Working Group and the Zambia Early Childhood Development Action Network, both national-level groups that discuss early childhood development in Zambia. Stakeholder consultative meetings were held in March 2019 in the Southern and Eastern provinces to understand the early childhood development landscape within the implementation districts. The meetings brought together representatives from various sectors, including the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Child Development, and Education, as well as cooperating partners implementing early childhood development interventions. RTC-Z also conducted health facility-level consultative meetings with health facility staff and community volunteer groups, and met with chiefs to introduce the project and gain buy-in from traditional leaders. The project team developed several documents during the formative phase, including a transition to scale plan, workplan, monitoring and evaluation plan, and project study protocol. The project curriculum is being developed in four sub-curricula, each targeting age-specific developmental stimulation. The toddler curriculum was developed during the pilot phase, and the inception, pre-toddler, and pre-scholar curricula are being developed during the implementation phase. The curriculum development process involves review by both internal and external teams, including experts in theatre and early childhood development within the Zambian context, and MoH district staff. In September and October 2019, SMAG selection and community sensitization meetings were held to select 45 SMAGs from the 10 health facility catchment areas for the implementation of the project. One SMAG was selected per intervention zone, except in 5 large zones where 2 SMAGs were selected. The project aims to distribute copies of the Zambian Folklore Children's Book to all households with children under the age of 9 and to implement community-based parenting groups targeting all caregivers with children under the age of 5. The project has made significant progress in 2019, including the development of the transition to scale plan, workplan, and monitoring and evaluation plan. The project team has also conducted stakeholder consultative meetings, health facility-level consultative meetings, and SMAG selection and community sensitization meetings. The project aims to improve early childhood development outcomes in Zambia by scaling up community-based parenting groups and distributing culturally relevant children's books. The project is being implemented in 10 health facility catchment areas in the Southern and Eastern provinces, including Nyimba District in Eastern Province and Pemba, Choma, and Kalomo Districts in Southern Province. The project is funded by USAID (80%) and Grand Challenges Canada (20%), with a total budget of $3,068,424. The project has made significant progress in 2019, and the implementation phase is expected to continue until January 2022.