Lack of access to quality childcare has been a longstanding issue, especially in low- and middle-income countries, with consequences for children’s and caregivers’ well-being and countries’ overall development.
Now, COVID-era containment measures, resulting in school and childcare center closures worldwide, have increased unpaid childcare burdens tremendously, especially for women and girls, and many childcare facilities have been forced to permanently shut down due to lost revenue.
Multilateral development banks (MDBs) have an important role to play to ensure that women and girls don’t get left behind in COVID recovery efforts, and prioritizing investments in quality, affordable childcare will be key to this end. But to date, MDBs have not made childcare a central priority in their lending and policy dialogues with governments.
