On April 28, 2022, the Children in Adversity team had the honor of hosting an event on Incentivizing Investments in Global Child Care Infrastructure, hosted in coordination with the White House Gender Policy Council and National Security Council. Speakers, including First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Brian P. McKeon, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, Melinda French Gates, White House Gender Policy Council Director Jennifer Klein, the World Bank’s Mari Elka Pangestu, and child care experts, Joan Lombardi, Sabrina Habib, and Mirai Chatterjee, emphasized the importance of developing high-quality care infrastructure worldwide to boost child development, women’s labor force participation, and economic growth.

The event marked USAID’s goal to commit up to $50 million over five years to the World Bank’s Childcare Incentive Fund to expand access to quality child care and early learning programs globally, which furthers President Biden’s values-driven global infrastructure initiative announced at the Carbis Bay G7 Summit last year. The multi-stakeholder fund will generate at least $180 million over the next five years to support child care in low-and middle-income countries. Other partners include the Governments of Canada and Australia, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Echidna Giving, the Ford Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the LEGO Foundation.