Early Childhood Development

The challenge: The brain develops most rapidly in the first six years of a child’s life. Yet, worldwide, 250 million children are not reaching their potential during these years. In 2015, an estimated six million children died before reaching age five, mostly because of highly preventable and treatable diseases. In developing countries, hundreds of millions of children do not have access to pre-school; they live in areas affected by armed conflict and climate-related disasters; and their growth is stunted, which harms their brain development.

Our solution: We work to ensure that girls and boys have a good start in life by influencing the environments in which they are growing. By supporting educators, parents, and governments in promoting and providing high-quality early learning opportunities, we are helping secure a brighter future for communities around the world.

Spotlight on Jennifer Elms, Gender Advisor at AKFC and AKF-US

“My hope would be that gender equality becomes so part of everybody’s DNA that integrating gender and using a gender lens will be a part of everyone.”

Spotlight on Nyambura Gathumbi, Regional Gender Advisor, AKF East Africa

My ultimate hope for the future is that we can transform the way we think, change our mindset around women, around girls, around gender issues.

Learning During A Pandemic

We helped governments create resources and toolkits to help students continue learning beyond the classroom.

Foundations for Education and Empowerment (F4EE)

F4EE aims to improve educational systems at the pre-primary and primary levels.

Foundations for Health and Empowerment (F4HE)

F4HE aims to improve the health and well-being and enhance equitable development and empowerment of women and girls.

Supporting early learners in challenging circumstances

Over the past months, we’ve learned that COVID-19 is more than a health crisis. The pandemic has disrupted our regular

The world we want

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), sometimes called the Global Goals, are a worldwide movement to break the cycle of poverty

Sowing the seeds of potential: Transforming teachers

The Madrasa Program also transforms the lives of the teachers who come through its doors, by training existing and future teachers.

Sowing the seeds of potential

The first 1,000 days of a child’s life, it is said, sets the stage for all future growth.