Aga Khan University in collaboration with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health held a conference in rural Sindh for youth contribution towards strong workforce of early childhood care education.
The conference is part of a project by Youth Leaders for Early childhood: Assuring children are Prepared for Schools (LEAPS) and implemented by National Commission for Human Development (NCHD). The programme being implemented in districts of Dadu, Naushero Feroz, Khairpur and Sukkur also involves co-investigators from Yale and Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute to measure the project’s impact on children and youth.
The conference aimed to scale up youth led early childhood care and education efforts. Sessions, focused on the state of early childhood and youth development in Pakistan, were held which included success stories of community youth leaders such as those of women role models from the districts. The event ended on a positive note to advocate and contribute towards access of early childhood education and its development.
“The LEAPS team hopes to advocate the idea to other provinces as well so it can be scaled up in the whole country,” said Dr Shelina Bhamani, an assistant professor obstetrics and gynaecology at AKU’s division of woman & child health.
The objective of the project ‘LEAPS’ is to evaluate youth-led early childhood care and education services using a step wedge cluster randomized design in the designated rural Sindh districts. The study design will help analyse the impact on children, youth outcomes, quality, cost and readiness of the programme. The two-generational approach towards investing in youth aligns with the University’s commitment to help achieve targets under the Sustainable Development Goals of gender equity, youth training and employment.
Director General NCHD Dr Shafaqat Ali said more such partnerships between academia and development sector should be made for early childhood education.
Co-members from the AKU team include Saima Siyal, a research specialist in the division of woman and child health. The Harvard University’s team includes Dr Aisha Yousufzai, principal investigator, Karima Rehmani, a research associate, and Emily Franchett, a research coordinator.
Aga Khan University in collaboration with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health held a conference in rural Sindh for youth contribution towards strong workforce of early childhood care education.
The conference is part of a project by Youth Leaders for Early childhood: Assuring children are Prepared for Schools (LEAPS) and implemented by National Commission for Human Development (NCHD). The programme being implemented in districts of Dadu, Naushero Feroz, Khairpur and Sukkur also involves co-investigators from Yale and Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute to measure the project’s impact on children and youth.
The conference aimed to scale up youth led early childhood care and education efforts. Sessions, focused on the state of early childhood and youth development in Pakistan, were held which included success stories of community youth leaders such as those of women role models from the districts. The event ended on a positive note to advocate and contribute towards access of early childhood education and its development.
“The LEAPS team hopes to advocate the idea to other provinces as well so it can be scaled up in the whole country,” said Dr Shelina Bhamani, an assistant professor obstetrics and gynaecology at AKU’s division of woman & child health.
The objective of the project ‘LEAPS’ is to evaluate youth-led early childhood care and education services using a step wedge cluster randomized design in the designated rural Sindh districts. The study design will help analyse the impact on children, youth outcomes, quality, cost and readiness of the programme. The two-generational approach towards investing in youth aligns with the University’s commitment to help achieve targets under the Sustainable Development Goals of gender equity, youth training and employment.
Director General NCHD Dr Shafaqat Ali said more such partnerships between academia and development sector should be made for early childhood education.
Co-members from the AKU team include Saima Siyal, a research specialist in the division of woman and child health. The Harvard University’s team includes Dr Aisha Yousufzai, principal investigator, Karima Rehmani, a research associate, and Emily Franchett, a research coordinator.