Fidelina Ndunge

A public health professional , passionate about community development; a daughter, sister and friend

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

Every child deserves the opportunity not only to survive, but to thrive.

The County Governments of @isioloCounty011 , @MarsabitGov , and @NairobiCityGov , together with @MPESA_FDN and @Amref_Kenya , have reaffirmed their commitment to giving every child the best possible start in life.

Building on the remarkable progress made across the three counties, this partnership is advancing the integration of Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development into Primary Health Care systems, embedding nurturing care within routine maternal, newborn, child health and nutrition services while strengthening child-friendly health infrastructure and family-centred care.

Through its continued investment in health and community well-being, the @MPESA_FDN is helping strengthen county-led systems that support children's health, learning, development, and protection from the earliest years.

This collaboration demonstrates what is possible when government leadership, strategic partnerships, and sustained investment come together around a shared vision: ensuring that every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Together, we are building stronger systems, healthier families, and brighter futures for Kenya's youngest generation.

#NurturingCare #EarlyChildhoodDevelopment #PrimaryHealthCare #MaternalAndChildHealth #ChildDevelopment #PartnershipsForImpact

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

What if I told you that a ball, a song, and a simple conversation could transform a refugee camp?

Today at the #IHDConference2026, @AmrefKenya presented evidence from the Tucheze Tustawi Project an initiative by @LEGOfoundation that is redefining what early childhood development and mental health support can look like in humanitarian settings.
Our poster presentation, “Play-Based Approaches to Support Mental Health and Well-being of Refugee and Host Communities in Kenya: A Case of Turkana County,” shares lessons from Turkana West, where children and caregivers continue to navigate displacement, chronic stress, and limited access to psychosocial support during the most critical period of child development, the 0-3 years of life.
The presentation highlights how Tucheze Tustawi is integrating play-based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) at homes, communities, and health systems to strengthen nurturing care and improve maternal and child health outcomes.
At the heart of the project is a simple but powerful idea: play is not just recreation, it is a tool for healing, learning, connection, and resilience.

Through the project:
🧸 478 Community Health Promoters and more than 75 Healthcare Workers were trained on the Nurturing Care Framework
👨‍👩‍👧 Caregivers, including fathers and male caregivers were engaged in responsive caregiving and home-based play using locally available materials.
🤝 Play and psychosocial support were integrated into Group Antenatal Care, strengthening peer support and continuity of care during pregnancy.
The impact has been remarkable.
📈 In Kakuma Sub-county, completion of the fourth ANC contact increased from 18% in March 2024 to 53% by June 2024.
💬 Referral pathways for vulnerable mothers and children strengthened, while psychosocial support became part of routine maternal and child healthcare.

And behind every statistic is a story. One of those stories is Queen Kweta, who completed all 8 ANC contacts, was stimulating her unborn babies and safely delivered twins, a powerful reminder of what becomes possible when communities are supported with dignity, care, and connection.
As conversations at #IHDConference2026 continue to explore the future of human development, Tucheze Tustawi is demonstrating that low-cost, culturally adaptable, community-led interventions can strengthen resilience and improve outcomes even in complex humanitarian settings.
The evidence is here. The model works. Because play is not a luxury. Play is public health.
🧸 Let’s play. Let’s thrive.

#TuchezeTustawi #PlayToThrive #ECD #MentalHealth #MHPSS #NurturingCare #RefugeeHealth #First1000Days #HumanDevelopment #AmrefHealthAfrica
@FidelinaN

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

Today, we had the pleasure of hosting the Safaricom Foundation team at Biafra Lions Dispensary, Kamukunji sub-county for a learning visit. We walked them through the Nurturing Care interventions provided at the health facility, community and household levels. The conversation kept circling back to one question: What does responsive caregiving look like in real life? Not on paper, but in the daily rhythm of families.

Around Kamukunji, the answer is showing up in homes and clinics alike. At the household level, Community Health Promoters are checking in with caregivers and sharing simple, doable ways to connect with their babies. It’s mothers turning everyday routines into moments of communication and play. It’s fathers stepping up and taking a more active role in child care. It’s families fashioning toys from whatever is at hand, proving you don’t need money or fancy materials to support early learning.

The same approach is promoted in clinic. At Biafra Lions Dispensary, health workers aren’t just ticking boxes during ANC, immunization, or growth monitoring visits. They’re using those touchpoints to check in with caregivers, ease their worries, and gently guide them on how to read and respond to their child’s cues.

What really stood out was how well these pieces are linking up. From the home to the community to the clinic, caregivers are getting consistent support instead of fragmented advice. The shift is already visible: caregivers sound more confident, dads are showing up more, and kids are brighter, more curious, and more engaged.

It’s a clear reminder that real change rarely comes from overly complex programs. More often, it’s the simple, locally grounded habits—practiced consistently—that move the needle.
Grateful to be walking this path with partners like the Safaricom Foundation, who are just as committed to seeing every child thrive. We’ll keep learning, adjusting, and sharing what works.

#NurturingCare #ResponsiveCaregiving
#ThrivingThroughPlay
#EarlyChildhoodDevelopment #PrimaryHealthCare #UzaziSalama

@hiltonfound @LEGOfoundation @SafaricomFDN @NairobiCityGov @MPESA_FDN

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

At #PBOWEEK2026, our Community Health Promoters (CHPs) are doing more than participating—they’re demonstrating what community-led change looks like in real time.
Through #TuchezeTustawi Project, CHPs are showcasing how caregivers of children (0–3 yrs) can use play to support mental health, social emotional learning and development—using homemade toys crafted from everyday materials.

A plastic bottle becomes a rattle. A piece of cloth becomes a ball. A simple moment becomes connection, learning, and healing.
This is what scalable impact looks like:
✔ Low-cost
✔ Locally made
✔ Delivered through trusted community systems

When we equip CHPs, we don’t just deliver interventions—we unlock sustainable, community-owned solutions for early childhood development.

#PBOWeek #ThrivingThroughPlay #MHPSS #EarlyYears
#SEL #CommunityHealth #Amref

@LEGOfoundation @NairobiCityGov @AnneGitimu @FidelinaN @SusanNyaboke5

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

Stronger systems. Healthier futures.

@Amref_Kenya, in partnership with @isioloCounty011, convened a 2-day Co-Creation & Implementation Planning Workshop bringing together key county leadership, including Hon. Lucy Kaburu.

The discussions reinforced a shared commitment to investing in early childhood development and advancing the Nurturing Care Framework within Primary Health Care systems.

Isiolo County is taking bold steps toward integrated, sustainable nurturing care—ensuring every child has the best start in life.

#AmrefHealthAfrica #ECD #NurturingCare #PHC #IsioloCounty

@hiltonfound

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

@Amref_Kenya is proud to be represented at #CIES2026 by @AnneGitimu @FidelinaN, and @SusanNyaboke5

They will share insights from our #Tucheze Tustawi project in Kenya 🇰🇪 during the panel:

📌 Thriving Through Play: Advancing Education and Peace by Supporting Children’s Psychosocial Well-being in Fragile Contexts
🗓 28 March | 11:15–12:30 PDT
📍 Hilton SF Union Square

Primary Health Care systems offer one of the most effective platforms to reach children aged 0–3 and their caregivers early.

Through #Tucheze Tustawi, we are integrating play-based mental health and psychosocial support into routine services—equipping caregivers to support early stimulation, social-emotional development, and school readiness. In fragile settings, this approach strengthens caregiver wellbeing, supports child development, and contributes to resilience and peaceful communities.

#CIES2026 #PrimaryHealthCare #ECD #MentalHealth #ThrivingThroughPlay

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

From Survival to Thriving: Strengthening Primary Healthcare to Give Every Child a Strong Start.
The first 1,000 days of a child's life are irreplaceable. Yet for too many children, healthcare systems stop at survival—missing the critical window to help them truly flourish.

The Nurturing Care Framework reminds us that thriving requires five essentials: good health, adequate nutrition, responsive caregiving, safety and security, and opportunities for early learning. While Primary Health Care has delivered impressive results on health and nutrition, we must now expand our ambition to responsive caregiving, opportunitiesfor early learning and safety and security.

This session brings together bold voices from @MOH_Kenya, @hiltonfound, @DHA_Kenya, @_shakenya, @KeTreasury, @UNICEF, @AKUGlobal, and county leadership to tackle three urgent questions:

🔹 How do we embed early childhood development as a core priority—not a vertical program?
🔹 What financing models sustain thriving without breaking PHC systems?
🔹 How do we turn data into decisions that actually reach children?
Because every touchpoint in primary care—from antenatal visits to immunization to postnatal checkups—is an opportunity to change a trajectory.
Join the conversation. Commit to the shift.

Today,March 5 | 11:45 am - 1:15 pm EAT
📍 Amref International University

#ThrivingNotSurviving
#EarlyChildhoodDevelopment #PrimaryHealthCare #NurturingCareFramework #First1000Days #HealthSystems #SDG3 #ChildThriving #KenyaHealth #GlobalHealth #Leadership #HealthFinancing #DataForHealth

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

Health. Nutrition. Education. Finance. Social protection.

We built silos.
Children paid the price.
At #PHCCongress2026, we’re done with fragmentation.

“From Survival to Thriving” convenes Treasury, SHA, counties, and global partners to answer:

How do we structurally embed early childhood across ALL sectors?

@NyamiraCountyG and @NairobiCityGov are showing it’s possible.
Digital Health Agency is building infrastructure.
KMTC is preparing the workforce.

The pieces exist.
What we need is coordination.
Leadership isn’t owning the agenda.
It’s aligning it.

Join us:
March 5 | 11:45 am EAT
📍 Amref International University (hybrid)
Register: https://t.co/me3IOskDG3

#Multisectoral #SystemsThinking #PHC #Kenya #UHC

@hiltonfound @MOH_Kenya @LEGOfoundation @Kmtc_official @UNICEF @WHOKenya @ecdnetwork_ke @PATHtweets @EchidnaGiving @CatholicRelief @Kidogo_ECD @DHA_Kenya @akuihd @_shakenya @NairobiCityGov @NyamiraCountyG @isioloCounty011

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

The future of Primary Health Care isn’t about surviving the next public health threat.

It’s about building systems that help every human thrive from day one.

At #PHCCongress2026, we’re asking a disruptive question:

What if the first 1,000 days were the foundation of PHC redesign?
Not an add-on.
Not a vertical program.
The very architecture of resilient health systems.
Resilience doesn’t begin in crisis response.
It begins at children’s surviving and thriving in their early years .
Because a health system that fails children in their earliest moments fails its most basic test.

Join us:
March 5 | 11:45 am EAT
📍 Amref International University (hybrid)
Register: https://t.co/me3IOskDG3

#SurvivalToThriving #NurturingCare #PHC #Resilience #First1000Days #Kenya #GlobalHealth #EarlyChildhoodDevelopment

@hiltonfound @MOH_Kenya @LEGOfoundation @Kmtc_official @UNICEF @WHOKenya @ecdnetwork_ke @PATHtweets @EchidnaGiving @CatholicRelief @Kidogo_ECD @DHA_Kenya @akuihd @_shakenya @NairobiCityGov @NyamiraCountyG @isioloCounty011

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

Play is a powerful tool for supporting children’s mental health, emotional well-being, and early learning. Through the #Tucheze Tustawi Project, we are strengthening caregivers and Community Health Promoters to use play to promote social-emotional skills, positive interaction, and responsive caregiving. By supporting caregiver wellbeing and nurturing relationships, we are creating safe spaces where children can feel secure, confident, and ready to learn.
Strong caregivers.
Strong children.
Strong futures.

#TuchezeTustawi #MentalHealth #PsychosocialSupport #ThrivingThroughPlay #ResponsiveCaregiving #EarlyChildhoodDevelopment #SocialEmotionalLearning
#MHPSS

@LEGOfoundation @NairobiCityGov

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

Primary Health Care provides repeated, trusted contact points with children and caregivers during the most critical years of development, from conception to age 3. These interactions create opportunities not only for care, but for systematic developmental tracking and early identification of delayed milestones.

Through the Strengthening #NCfECD in PHC project, supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, nurturing care will be integrated into routine PHC services and community follow-up through trained Community Health Promoters, ensuring developmental monitoring is demonstrated, observed, documented, and followed up over time.

By embedding responsive caregiving, opportunities for early learning, and safety and security into antenatal services, MCH, child welfare clinics, and household-level engagement, caregivers and health workers are better able to monitor developmental milestones, identify delays early, and support timely referral and follow-up.

Primary Health Care is the best entry platform for Nurturing Care.
It is a system for promoting early developmental monitoring, when intervention has the greatest impact.

#PrimaryHealthCare #EarlyChildhoodDevelopment #NurturingCare #PartnershipsForImpact

@hiltonfound @AnneGitimu @FidelinaN @SusanNyaboke5

[Fidelina Ndunge @FidelinaN]

RT @Amref_Kenya: Amref Health Africa and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation paid a courtesy visit to Dr Bashir, Director/Head of the Departmen…

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

Nurturing care starts before birth.

At the antenatal clinic, expectant mothers are encouraged to talk and sing to their babies, helping build early connection, safety, and emotional security long before a child is born. Fathers are also encouraged to be present, so nurturing care begins as a shared responsibility.

Through the Strengthening #NCfECD in PHC project, supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Primary Health Care is being used as the first platform to support nurturing care for children aged 0–3 years. Caregivers are introduced to responsive caregiving, early learning, and safety through practical, low-cost approaches.

This includes demonstrating age-appropriate, home-made toys using locally available materials and supporting caregivers to understand how play promotes early learning while also making it easier to observe and track developmental milestones.
Primary Health Care is often a child’s first interaction with the world beyond the home.

That is where nurturing care begins, and where early learning and development can be supported before delays take root.

This week at @NyamiraCountyG, we were honoured to host a team from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to engage on the Strenthening #NCfECD in PHC project and see how nurturing care is being integrated into Primary Health Care during the most critical early years of life.

@NyamiraCountyG @hiltonfound

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

Today, @Amref_Kenya paid a visit to @NyamiraCountyG for the entry meeting of the new Early Childhood Development (ECD) project. Funded by @hiltonfound through @results4dev, this project under Amref’s education portfolio seeks to promote Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development (ECD) within the Primary Health Care (PHC) system at the national level and in Nyamira County. The discussion focused on aligning efforts to strengthen ECD through #PHC by:

1. Generating evidence on nurturing care for ECD in Primary Health Care
2. Integrating nurturing care for ECD in PHC.

To improve early childhood development, #Amref in collaboration with @MOH_Kenya will engage a multi-sectorial engagement approach in this project. With Nyamira County’s commitment and #Amref’s expertise, this partnership will ensure children under 1000 days receive the health, adequate nutrition, security and safety, responsive caregiving and stimulation they need to thrive.

#Amref4PHC @FidelinaN

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

Today, @Amref_Kenya, led by @AnneGitimu, visited the Department of Refugee Services in Kakuma, @TurkanaCountyKE. The team met with the Camp Manager, Edwin Chabari to discuss key projects and initiatives under the Family and Reproductive Health (FRH) and PHE directorates.

Funded by the Danish Alliance, these initiatives aim to align with national priorities and strengthen collaboration with Turkana County, which is a key focus area for #Amref.

We are dedicated to creating projects that effectively serve both host and refugee communities. #Amref4PHC @DRSKenya @FidelinaN @KWakoli @Agikunda

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

Our Sports for Health Project hosted the #Amref International Board in the Dagoretti Sub-county, Nairobi. The project uses sports to combat the triple threat of teenage pregnancy, SGBV, and new HIV infections among adolescents, while also promoting mental health integration. During the meeting, the Board engaged with the beneficiaries who shared their personal experiences and highlighted the positive impact of sports on their lives. #AmrefSupportSRH @NdiranguWanjuki @GilbertWangalwa @MusyokaKenn @AnneGitimu @KWakoli @daktari1 @FidelinaN

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

80% of all newborn deaths result from three preventable and treatable conditions - prematurity, birth asphyxia and neonatal infections. - Janette Karimi, Head of Newborn and Child Health, @MOH_Kenya #Amref4RMNCAH #Amref4PHC @ElgeyoMarakwetC @AnneGitimu @HomaBayCountyKE @NdiranguWanjuki @FidelinaN

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

"In the last 10 decades, we have stagnated as a country in reducing maternal mortality. We need to be bold and challenge ourselves as we count down to Vision 2030. No mother or woman should die in the process of giving birth. No newborn should die when they come to life." - @GilbertWangalwa #Amref4RMNCAH #Amref4PHC
@MOH_Kenya @ElgeyoMarakwetC @AnneGitimu @HomaBayCountyKE @NdiranguWanjuki @FidelinaN

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

Today, @Amref_Kenya, in partnership with the @KenyaGovernors and @MOH_Kenya, launched the Maternal and Newborn Health (MNH) Big Bet initiative titled "Sparking Change, Saving Lives - Quality Healthcare for Moms and Babies". This bold move aims to reduce the high rates of maternal and newborn mortality in Kenya and accelerate progress towards achieving the SDGs commitments. #Amref4RMNCAH #AmrefBigBetDialogue #Amref4PHC @HomaBayCountyKE @NdiranguWanjuki @GilbertWangalwa @FidelinaN @ElgeyoMarakwetC

[Amref Health Africa in Kenya @Amref_Kenya]

Kiki, also known as Messi, is a talented football player who has played for Harambee Starlets and travelled to countries like 🇦🇴 and 🇪🇹. She dreams of a full-time football career after completing her national high school examinations. #Amref4Inclusion #IWD2024 #InternationalWomensDay #InspireInclusion

Read her full story via https://t.co/bJdGsIuRSA

@Power2YouthKe @YACT_Africa