Minister Siviwe Gwarube and World Bank convene regional childcare conference, 4 May

The Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube and the World Bank will be convening a regional childcare conference on empowering childcare in Eastern and Southern Africa. The three-day conference (4–6 May 2026) will bring together policymakers, World Bank staff and international experts from across East and Southern Africa. Discussions will focus on the benefits of investing in childcare for women, children, families, businesses and economies; policy and program approaches to expand access to quality affordable childcare; quality assurance systems for effective delivery; strengthening the childcare workforce; public private partnerships and financing approaches to ensure provision is affordable for vulnerable families.

The South African context provides a strong country example of efforts to expand quality, affordable childcare at scale, including through policy and financial commitments, quality assurance reforms and public private partnerships. The 2021 Early Childhood Development Census recorded 42,420 ECD programmes, reaching approximately 2 million children aged 0–5. To address inequities and expand access, particularly for low-income families and rural communities, South Africa has introduced a subsidy system for childcare and early learning services, positioning the country among the few middle-income economies outside Latin America providing broad financial support for childcare. The country also supports the expansion of quality childcare systems through public private partnerships and has recently developed the Bana Pele (Children first) Blueprint to coordinate efforts across the system.

Members of the media are invited to attend the opening session of the conference as follows:

Date: Monday, 4 May 2026
Time: 08:15 – 10:30am
Venue: Johannesburg Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch

Speakers:

• Hon. Siviwe Gwarube, Minister of Basic Education
• Ms Satu Kahkonen, Division Director for South Africa, World Bank Group

There will be an opportunity for media interviews with speakers following the opening session, by prior arrangement.

Note: Media are invited only to the opening session on 4 May (9am – 12noon). The remainder of the conference from 4–6 May will include technical sessions and country exchanges on childcare policy, financing, workforce development, and quality assurance systems.

Enquiries:
Department of Basic Education
Terrence Khala
Cell: 081 758 1546
E-mail: Khala.T@dbe.gov.za

Senior External Affairs Officer, World Bank South Africa
Lavinia Engelbrecht
Cell: +27 73 267 6073
E-mail: lengelbrecht@worldbankgroup.org

External Affairs
Oarabile Minky Moilwa
E-mail: omoilwa@worldbank.org

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