UNICEF: 20,000 Children in Afghanistan Benefit from Early Childhood Development Programme

Image: UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says that in 2025, in cooperation with the World Bank, 70 Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres have been established across Afghanistan, benefiting more than 20,000 children so far.

UNICEF stated that the aim of the programme is to support children’s mental and emotional development and to strengthen positive relationships between mothers and their children.

Azita Siddiqi, a senior trainer of the programme in Herat, said: “In the early development centres, learning takes place through play, conversation, and poetry so that children, alongside their mothers, can feel joy and confidence.”

In a video released by UNICEF on Monday (November 10), Madina Azimi, one of the participating mothers in Herat province, said: “I learned that children under three years old learn best through songs and rhymes. When I sing with my child, his behaviour and emotions improve.”

UNICEF added that the programme not only supports children’s learning but also helps mothers understand how to foster their children’s mental and emotional growth through play and emotional connection.

The programme comes at a time when millions of children in Afghanistan are deprived of basic opportunities for growth and learning due to poverty, malnutrition, and widespread restrictions on education and healthcare.