Athena Infonomics, in collaboration with FATE Consulting Ltd. and under the guidance of UNICEF Rwanda, has successfully conducted the end-line evaluation of Phase II of a programme entitled "Transforming the Lives of Children in Rwanda (ECD&F)," executed between 2014 and 2020. This early childhood development and family (ECD&F) programme aims to foster responsive care of young children, improve access to and use of quality early childhood development (ECD) services, and promote child-sensitive policies at all levels of the government in Rwanda. The ECD&F programme was implemented in two phases: Phase I (2014-2016) and Phase II (2017-2020). The Phase I baseline (2014) and end-line (2016-2017) evaluations were conducted by Harvard University, and the University of Rwanda supervised by an Evaluation Technical Committee. The Phase I end-line (2016-2017) was considered as a baseline for Phase II.
The Phase II end-line evaluation (2020) was conducted to measure the impact of the ECD&F Phase II programme and to determine if the intended objectives of the programme had been achieved, as compared with results from the Phase II baseline evaluation (or Phase I end-line 2016-2017). The evaluation results are organized around the programme objectives related to: core family care practices; child development and health; nutrition; WASH; support for learning; and access to and use of quality ECD and other basic social services. The findings presented in the report are meant to guide the development of future programmes and to inform and update policies and strategies related to the ECD&F programme in Rwanda.
The original report was published on the UNICEF's website, here. This report was prepared by Francis Xavier Rathinam, Bilal Afroz, Ashmika Gouchwal and Saumya Kaul.
