​UAE, India strengthen ties on child development and early education

The United Arab Emirates and India are exploring new avenues of cooperation in child development, with particular emphasis on early childhood education, nutrition and child participation initiatives, WAM reported.

Al Reem Abdullah Al Falasi, Secretary-General of the UAE’s Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, held talks with Shri Anil Malik, Secretary at India’s Ministry of Women and Child Development, during the first International Financing Summit for Early Childhood organized by UNICEF in New York, alongside the 80th UN General Assembly.

The discussions focused on sharing expertise to raise the quality of early education, including collaboration on curricula and teaching tools. Both sides also reviewed potential partnerships on early nutrition programs such as breastfeeding and complementary feeding, with the possibility of launching a joint study to assess the impact of these interventions on children’s growth and development.

Another area under consideration was the creation of a joint report on the state of childhood, positioned as a model for South-South cooperation. The two delegations also weighed opportunities to promote child participation through initiatives like child parliaments, which could include joint sessions or digital exchanges between the Emirati Children’s Parliament and their Indian counterparts, covering issues such as education, environment, and digital safety.

Al Falasi stressed that investing in children is an investment in the nation’s future. She pointed to the UAE’s progress in reducing under-five mortality to around five per 1,000 live births, achieving 96 percent immunization coverage, and boosting early education enrollment in Dubai by 16 percent.

She also highlighted national initiatives such as the 2024 Fatima bint Mubarak Forum on Mental Health and the I Support My Friends training program run in partnership with UNICEF.

Al Falasi further noted that under the directives of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Mother of the Nation, the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood has expanded child protection and empowerment programs across the UAE. Among these is the nationwide anti-bullying campaign launched in schools in 2016, which has reached more than 240,000 students and contributed to a significant decline in bullying rates.