The data collection phase of a landmark national study aimed at transforming early childhood services for children with disabilities has been officially launched in Nairobi.

The initiative, spearheaded by The Action Foundation (TAF) in collaboration with government agencies and research institutions, seeks to ensure that more than 1.3 million children under the age of eight receive equitable access to essential services.

The study forms part of the Disability-Inclusive Early Childhood Development (DIECD) initiative, a six-year programme running from 2025 to 2030.

It focuses on improving access to healthcare, nutrition, education, rehabilitation, and social protection for children with disabilities, while promoting their inclusion alongside their peers.

Speaking during the launch, TAF Executive Director Maria Omare emphasised the urgent need for reliable data to guide policy and investment decisions.

“Without credible, nationally representative data, these children remain invisible in planning and budgeting processes,” Omare said. “Without that visibility, disability-inclusive early childhood development risks remaining an aspiration, rather than a funded and coordinated public service.”

More than 1.3 million young children with disabilities in Kenya currently lack access to essential services such as healthcare, assistive technology, rehabilitation, and inclusive education-not due to a lack of solutions, but because systems have not been fully designed to reach them.

The baseline study aims to close this gap by generating comprehensive data on the needs, conditions, and costs associated with supporting children with disabilities.

The findings are expected to inform national and county-level planning, ensuring that disability inclusion becomes a central component of early childhood development strategies.

The project is being implemented in partnership with several key government and research bodies, including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD), and the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC).

County governments from Nairobi, Kajiado, Machakos, Murang’a, Siaya, Kilifi, and Samburu are also actively involved.

Field data collection will cover 6,510 households across the selected counties, using a nationally representative sample approved by KNBS.

The counties were chosen to reflect Kenya’s geographic and socio-economic diversity, ensuring that the findings capture a comprehensive national picture.

Omare described the launch as a turning point in how Kenya approaches disability inclusion in early childhood.

“For too long, children with disabilities in Kenya have been left out-not out of malice, but because the systems were not built with them in mind,” she said. “This study is our effort to change that. You cannot fund what you cannot see, and you cannot plan for children whose needs have never been properly counted.”

She added that the study would provide critical evidence needed to move disability inclusion from policy rhetoric to actionable government programmes.

“The DIECD Baseline Study will give us, and the government, the numbers, the costs, and the evidence to make disability-inclusive early childhood services a line item in the budget, not an afterthought,” Omare noted. “These 1.3 million children and their families have waited long enough.”

The data collection phase follows earlier milestones in the project, including its official launch in October 2025 and the validation of research protocols in March 2026. These steps established the technical, ethical, and methodological frameworks guiding the study.

Stakeholders say the initiative aligns with the progressive provisions of the Persons with Disabilities Act 2025, which has strengthened legal protections and rights for persons with disabilities in Kenya.

However, experts note that implementation has been hindered by a lack of comprehensive data-an issue the DIECD study aims to resolve.

By focusing on early identification of disabilities and creating inclusive environments that adapt to children’s needs, the initiative represents a shift from traditional approaches that often require children to fit into rigid systems.

As the fieldwork begins, policymakers, researchers, and advocates alike are hopeful that the findings will lay the groundwork for more inclusive and equitable services—ensuring that no child is left behind during their most critical years of development.