Accelerating quality, affordable childcare for all in Africa

Maternal and Child Health Technical Working Group (MCH TWG)

Maternal and Child Health Technical Working Group (MCH TWG)

Maternal and Child Health technical working group supplements the government’s efforts to end preventable maternal and child death while promoting health and development for all Women as Primary Caregivers and Children in the first 1000 days of their life.

The technical working group will focus on 6 key aspects of Sexual Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health (SRMCH), Psycho-social Support, Health, Nutrition & Food Security programs, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Advocacy for better health, and Partnership building.

Role

The Maternal, Child Health-TWG encourages and incentivizes working together among partners and emphasizes practical and strategic commitments to accelerating maternal child health initiatives affecting children under 5 in Kenya. The MCH-TWG enables the coordination of maternal, child health-related activities in the country and aligns to the vision of the Collaborative Action for Childcare (CAC) to accelerate equitable, quality and affordable Childcare for all in the country. Additionally, the MCH-TWG may propose, recommend and/or raise resources in promotion of its objectives.

Further, the MCH-TWG is mandated to undertake the following:

  • Support acceleration of sustainable reduction of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in Kenya by December 2028.
  • Ensure women in childcare have increased access to food assistance.
    Manage severe acute malnutrition amongst women in childcare.
  • Ensure women in childcare have increased access to food and nutritional supplements for their children.
  • Support women in childcare to access enough clean drinking and domestic water.
  • Contribute to the increase of women in childcare’s Hygiene standards.
  • Contribute to the review of publications of knowledge documents emerging from childcare work and published by member agencies.
  • Facilitate and, when appropriate, coordinate maternal child health initiatives.
  • Support and work alongside government departments, relevant ministries and County Governments to develop and achieve their objectives.
  • Support the advocacy for children under 5 and their carers, including dissemination of research reports, conference reports and policy briefs.
  • Provide expert knowledge and practical experience of Childcare-related reporting.
  • Create and provide a collaborative and supportive platform for knowledge exchange, information and experience sharing to mutually reinforce best policy practices among actors.
  • Facilitate and coordinate efforts to promote collaborative action on maternal child health when appropriate and agreed.
  • Jointly fundraise for and implement activities related to maternal child health at county and national level.
  • Broaden stakeholder engagement in enhancing childcare services and programs.
  • Represent the sector on maternal child health conversations involving external stakeholders.

Membership

The TWG consists of organizations working in or interested in working in childcare. These include representatives from national and county government, research agencies, health institutions, sexual and reproductive health organizations, WASH institutions, psycho-social support institutions, nutrition, and food security organizations, an advocacy organization, childcare enterprises, and other institutions that play an active role in enhancing a maternal reproductive healthy environment.