Childcare and Early Childhood Development Expenditures in Africa: Comparative Policy Insights for Advancing Women’s Economic Empowerment

This paper examines public expenditures on childcare and early childhood development in four African countries, providing comparative policy insights to advance gender equality and women's economic empowerment. It begins by addressing the methodological and data challenges involved in obtaining and analyzing public expenditure data in these critical areas. The analysis then focuses on Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Rwanda, and Senegal, examining government spending and national policies aimed at promoting accessible, affordable, and quality childcare. Findings indicate that these countries typically invest less than 0.2 percent of GDP and around 2 percent or less of their education budgets on pre-primary education, with less than 2 percent of foreign aid to education directed to early childhood education (with the recent exception of Côte d'Ivoire). These investment levels fall significantly short of international recommendations, though the precision of these figures is hindered by significant gaps and complexities in accessing and analyzing comprehensive expenditure data. The paper identifies key policies shaping public expenditures and explores the potential economic and social benefits of increasing childcare investments in these countries over time. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to enhance the transparency and accessibility of expenditure data, prioritize early childhood in public funding, and leverage international aid and policy frameworks to optimize childcare services in Africa. By doing so, these efforts can better facilitate gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, and economic development.