Childcare Advocacy, Research, and Engagement (CARE) Initiative
The CARE Initiative is a multisectoral, multi-donor collaboration that expands access to high-quality, equitable, affordable, and inclusive childcare services. It does this by supporting locally led, coordinated advocacy that influences national policies and investment decisions.
Why it Matters
Despite growing global momentum for childcare, ECDAN partners consistently reported that this energy was not translating into national-level progress. Low awareness, weak political commitment, siloed advocacy, and limited funding for local advocacy continue to slow policy change and investment. In response, we engaged more than 130 partners through workshops, consultations, surveys, and a multisectoral steering committee to better understand these challenges and co-design potential solutions.
Through in-depth discussions with eight organizations that made up the steering committee, ECDAN designed the CARE Initiative as the second phase of its Childcare4All Campaign. The campaign launched in 2021 in response to a crisis exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and called for increased investment to expand access to high-quality, affordable, and equitable childcare services around the world.
CARE Partners
The CARE Initiative supports multisectoral consortia of in-country partners working to build bridges across movements in Bangladesh, South Africa, and Tanzania. Through this initiative, we aim to shift the status quo by connecting early childhood, gender equality/women’s economic empowerment, and workers’ rights movements; strengthening partner capacity; integrating a systems change approach; and coordinating advocacy activities for greater impact.
Through an open and competitive process, the following partners were selected to plan coordinated advocacy efforts to strengthen childcare systems in their countries:
Key Achievements
- We hosted a virtual event on October 1, 2025 that launched phase two of the Childcare4all campaign to a global audience and introduced the CARE Initiative partners. Each spoke about their hopes and plans for the Initiative and the realities of their country’s context.
- 13 individuals representing each of the six partner organizations gathered in Bangladesh for kickoff meeting. During this three-day workshop, CARE partners interacted with the childcare systems map and applied a systems thinking approach to strategic advocacy planning. This allowed the partners to explore the childcare ecosystem, target specific elements of the system, identify key leverage points and advocacy objectives, and plan key activities to address identified gaps. The energy of the workshop was captured in this video, produced by BRAC IED, the event hosts.
- Each selected consortium engaged stakeholders, conducted further research, and held workshops that culminated in a coordinated advocacy plan. After validation of these plans, implementation of advocacy activities has begun.
- Every other month, representatives from all six organizations gather for community of practice discussions. Countries take turns presenting progress, raising challenges, and highlighting successes. These meetings build on the peer learning and support foundation that was built in Bangladesh. The community of practice meetings and give ECDAN opportunities to share additional resources or ideas on topics the partners identify.
- Included all three countries and many CARE partners in Investing in the Early Years: A Global Technical Financing Forum that we co-organized in May 2026 in Rwanda. South Africa was one of the countries showcased during a country dialogue on the mainstage while Tanzania and Bangladesh were represented on the government panel discussion.
Progress by Country
Across the three countries, CARE partners are applying shared systems-change principles while adapting their advocacy strategies to each national context. The examples below highlight early progress, emerging policy opportunities, and the foundations partners are building for longer-term childcare reform.
Read below to learn about their early progress and achievements to date as each country works towards longer-term childcare reform.
- Completed a comprehensive systems mapping and context analysis to better understand the childcare ecosystem in Bangladesh.
- Identified entry points to promote home-based childcare (HBCC) within the ready-made-garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh via policy-interventions with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
- Formed an initial coalition for HBCC advocacy with a diverse group of stakeholders.
- Began preparations for a Childcare Expo in November 2026, which will bring together key stakeholders and help build further momentum around the initiative.
- Launched a needs assessment to identify suitable factories where a model HBCC intervention could be piloted to gather more evidence of what works as part of the advocacy campaign.
- Established a genuinely cross-sector childcare Alliance linking organizations working across ECD, gender justice, labor rights, the care economy and community organizing.
- Developed a shared vision for childcare reform and identified four overarching advocacy objectives centered on building organizing power, strengthening childcare funding, creating an enabling regulatory environment, and shifting public narratives around care.
- Cabinet approval of the Children’s Amendment Bill in May 2026 was an important milestone. The Bill will next be introduced into Parliament and considered by the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces. Once adopted, it will require the development of regulations, norms and standards, and model municipal by-laws.
- Held a three-day workshop in July 2026 with partners to build the trust and organizing power needed to advance these objectives. Planned additional workshops for the coming months.
- Conducted nine local government listening tours which are grounding the campaign to “make local government work for ECD.” The insights gathered from direct engagement with ECD providers will provide the foundation for constituency-led, coordinated advocacy across partner organizations.
- Provided technical support to the Department of Basic Education on the design and pilot of the new eCares Subsidy Module, which aims to make subsidy applications and administration more accessible, efficient, and transparent.
- A major advocacy milestone is the recent KwaZulu-Natal court order recognizing access to early childhood development as a constitutional right. The judgment strengthens the legal foundation for future advocacy on children’s rights, government accountability, and equitable access to early childhood development services.
- Conducted Tanzania’s first comprehensive study on home-based childcare (HBCC), generating critical evidence on the care arrangements relied upon by more than 95% of families with young children. The study uncovered major policy, governance, financing, and workforce gaps while identifying practical, scalable solutions for integrating HBCC into national early childhood development, labor, gender, and social protection systems. Validation of the study by the National Multisectoral ECDP Secretariat took place in July 2026.
- Established a national childcare community of practice (NCCoP), the country’s first multi-stakeholder platform dedicated to advancing the national childcare agenda. The NCCoP brings together 40 key institutions from civil society, academia, labor organizations, and the private sector under a shared framework for collaboration, learning, and advocacy. Members collectively developed and validated the NCCoP’s Terms of Reference in February 2026, demonstrating strong ownership and a shared commitment.
- Contributed to the revision of the Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) curriculum for domestic workers to incorporate childcare, child development, and child protection competencies. This was done through strategic engagement with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA). TECDEN was invited to serve on the curriculum development and validation committee and continues to provide technical expertise throughout the curriculum finalization process.
Future Plans
The current CARE Initiative projects run through September 2027. Over the next three months, we will be publishing additional stories and resources that showcase learning across the three countries and use the International Day of Care and Support on October 29 as a moment to amplify our advocacy efforts.
We are actively looking to expand the CARE Initiative by adding more donors to the collaborative and supporting consortia in additional countries.
