Building Resilience and Fostering Hope: Early Childhood Education in Ethiopia's Polycrisis

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Introduction
In areas affected by conflict and displacement, education is a crucial tool for both immediate protection and long-term peace, fostering reconciliation and social cohesion through inclusive and context-sensitive programs.
Following a prolonged crisis, including climate change-induced floods and conflicts, Ethiopia continues to grapple with a persistent humanitarian crisis, whereby young children are among the most affected. According to the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan, the cumulative effects of conflict, violence, and climate shocks have left 21.4 million people — 4.1 million women and 12 million children — in need of humanitarian assistance . The impact of this polycrisis on the education of Ethiopia's youngest children is severe. The emergencies have strained the government's capacity to uphold children's right to education while also undermining the resilience of communities and families. The Education Cluster reports that 8.31 million children are out of school nationwide. A significant driver of these out-of-school rates is the limited availability of functional school facilities. Approximately 19% of schools across Ethiopia are inaccessible, with over 5,430 schools closed, 9,178 schools damaged by climate shocks and conflict, and nearly 140 schools repurposed as emergency shelters.

Despite these challenges, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has continued to make strides in increasing access to early childhood education. The MOE's 2022/2023 academic year statistics report shows that the gross enrollment rate (GER) in pre-primary education has grown from 9% in 2010 to 50% in 2023. However, access to preprimary education will only be realized with emphasis on quality ECDE services. Other essential process elements such as play-based teaching methodologies, inclusive education, focus on children’s well-being and holistic development, and organizing print-rich environment classrooms need to be looked at to ensure the provision of quality ECDE services in emergency settings. In addition, integrated programs focusing on health, nutrition and social protection are also vital for the child's overall development .

Delivering high-quality ECDE services while ensuring reach to all children in emergency-affected contexts can be challenging due to operational constraints, limited resources and capacities, and lack of political will. Furthermore, in such contexts, capacity for efficient monitoring and evaluation is often restricted which further limits data-driven program adaptation and improvement.

This panel brings together a group of specialists working to build local capacities for quality ECDE delivered through learning centers, community groups, and home visits in emergency settings in Ethiopia. The presentations showcase the experiences and lessons learned from working with local implementing partners to effectively reach children in conflict and drought-affected regions, including internally displaced children, boys and girls and children with disabilities. The authors will share the context, the challenges and the strategies to promote early learning and well-being of children through quality inclusive play-based approaches and will discuss the role of data and digital tools to guide program activities and enhance quality ECDE.

The first presentation focuses on lessons learned delivering quality early childhood education to over 50,000 children in five crisis-affected regions of Ethiopia. The paper will first set the scene for the panel by reviewing the current status of poly-crisis in the five regions and their impact on the youngest learners, ages 3-6. Following the introduction, the presenter will articulate three sets of learnings regarding how to sustain quality early learning in spite of disruptive manmade and natural disasters and their intersectionality. Specifically, the paper will articulate how the team has established systems of continuous adaptation and relationship maintenance to ensure continued early learning service support in the conflict-affected regions, Amhara, Tigray and Afar. Second, the paper will articulate the importance of local partnership and school-community engagement to sustain critical elements of early learning such as school feeding in the drought-affected region of Somali and Oromia. Finally, the paper will share what has been learned about how to meet the needs of children with disabilities, despite dramatic funding reductions, and the encouraging role of local actors.

The second presentation explores the role and contribution of digital data-driven evidence in enhancing ECDE programming in regions of Ethiopia affected by ongoing drought and conflict. The paper will focus on how digital monitoring tools and data analysis have been utilized to identify needs, monitor progress, and adapt ECDE interventions in these challenging environments. Drawing on data collected through the Activity’s Routine Monitoring Tool and the author will showcase the process, challenges and usefulness of tracking key indicators that reflect the progress, fidelity and outcomes of ECDE programs. Framed by the Childhood Development Activity’s Theory of Change, the results allow understanding aspects of ECDE structural and process quality, such as teachers ability to apply play-based methodologies, including using daily routine, establishing learning areas, and applying various locally made play materials to facilitate inclusive classroom learning. Finally, the author will build on these results to reflect on the role of data to guide Activity delivery and to build the capacity of teachers with different educational backgrounds and experiences.

The third presentation will showcase the outcomes of the Childhood Development Activity for young learners after only an eight-week accelerated learning program as measured through the robust International Development Early Learning Assessment (IDELA). High-quality early learning opportunities, including evidence based curricula and playful learning opportunities, are essential for children's success in primary school and beyond. The paper will share the process and outcomes of the Childhood Development Activity Accelerated School Readiness (ASR) program, an intensive eight-week play-based, holistic development and learning program for 6-year-olds without pre-primary education exposure. In the Summers of 2024 and 2025, around 12,000 children 6 years or older, in crisis-affected Ethiopian regions of Oromia, Somali, Amhara, Tigray, and Afar participated in the ASR play-based learning program. Adjusting for the development that occurs due to eight weeks of natural development, the gains in early learning skills associated with ASR attendance were estimated to be 28 percentage points. After detailing the program, the speaker will present the IDELA tool, the pre/post methodology, and sampling methods used to measure development outcomes for young children, and the measurement adaptations made over year two and year three.

Sub Unit

• Early Childhood Development SIG

Organizer

• Meheret Tena Getachew, Save the Children

Chair

• Julia Finder Johna, Save the Children

Individual Presentations

• Continuing Early Childhood Education in Contexts of Crisis: A three-year retrospective. - Meheret Tena Getachew, Save the Children

• The Impact of an Accelerated School Readiness Program on Young Learners in Ethiopia - Josephine Ferla; Filipa de Castro, Save the Children; Cynthia Koons, Save the Children US

• The Role and Contribution of Digital Monitoring Tools for Data-Driven ECDE Programming in the Context of Protracted Drought and Conflict-Affected Areas - Filipa de Castro, Save the Children; Jemal Abdulkadir KELILO, Save the children

Discussant

• Anne C Smiley, IRC