Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: THE UAE and India have decided to enhance cooperation in developing integrated child development service models, with a focus on early childhood education, nutrition, and child participation initiatives, reported WAM.
Al Reem Abdullah Al Falasi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, met with Anil Malik, Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development in India, on the sidelines of the first-ever International Financing Summit for Early Childhood, hosted by UNICEF in New York as part of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.
The talks explored ways to benefit from both countries’ experiences in improving early childhood education quality, including the exchange of curricula and educational tools. The two sides also reviewed cooperation in early nutrition through programmes supporting breastfeeding and complementary feeding, and considered a joint project to measure the impact of nutritional interventions on child growth.
Discussions further touched on the possibility of producing a joint report on the state of childhood as a best practice in South-South cooperation. Both parties also considered initiatives to promote child participation through child parliaments, with the potential for joint activities between the Emirati Children’s Parliament and Indian child parliaments, including digital dialogues on education, environment, and digital safety.
Al Falasi underscored that wise early investment in children secures the nation’s future. She pointed to the UAE’s achievements in reducing under-five mortality to around five per 1,000 live births, achieving 96 percent immunisation coverage, and increasing early education enrollment in Dubai by 16 percent. She also highlighted key initiatives, including the 2024 Fatima bint Mubarak Forum on Mental Health, and the “I Support My Friends” training programme with UNICEF.
Al Falasi further noted that the Council, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and under the directives of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, (Mother of the Nation), President of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, has expanded efforts to protect and empower children across the UAE and launched the nationwide school anti-bullying programme in 2016, which has benefited more than 240,000 students and significantly reduced bullying rates.
