Impact of Early Childhood Development Programmes on Urban Poor Mothers in Kampala: A Quantitative Study

Early childhood development (ECD) programmes are crucial for fostering cognitive and social-emotional skills in children under five years of age. In urban poor communities, such programmes can significantly impact mothers' well-being and their ability to support child development. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including a survey with 1200 urban poor mothers and qualitative interviews with 50 mothers. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics for quantitative results and thematic analysis for qualitative insights. The survey revealed that ECD programmes significantly increased maternal education levels by 30% (95% CI: 25-36) compared to a baseline, indicating improved parenting knowledge and skills. ECD programmes in Kampala have positively influenced urban poor mothers' educational attainment, contributing to better child development outcomes. Policy makers should prioritise ECD programme funding and integration into existing social support systems for maximum impact on urban poor communities. Model estimation used =argmin_ᵢ (yᵢ, f_ (xᵢ) ) +₂², with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.