Care, Cities and Collective Action: Insights from Women Deliver

Attending the Women Deliver Conference, which took place in Narrm (Melbourne), Australia from 27–30 April 2026, was both affirming and inspiring. It was a powerful reminder that the future of cities, economies, and communities depends on how seriously we invest in care systems and how intentionally we place care at the centre of public policy, infrastructure, and everyday life.

I had the opportunity to attend Women Deliver as a member of the Africa Cares Together Community of Practice (ACT CoP) to share Nairobi’s journey in advancing market-based childcare services and the establishment of the Care Sector Technical Working Group in the ACT CoP and CEDCA side event Reimagining Diverse Care Infrastructures for Just and Feminist Futures. These initiatives in Nairobi are helping demonstrate that care is not simply a social issue; it is economic infrastructure that enables women’s participation in work, strengthens families, and supports thriving communities.

Creating a city-wide approach to care in Nairobi

Wow Mom Kenya’s experience in implementing market-based daycare services in Nairobi clearly demonstrated that care is deeply multi-sectoral and requires collaboration across multiple actors. What initially appeared to be a childcare intervention quickly evolved into a broader city systems conversation touching on urban planning, public health, economic empowerment, gender equality, labour, social protection, market governance, and community development. Women traders needed safe and affordable childcare to participate productively in markets, children needed safe and nurturing environments, caregivers required decent working conditions and training, while the county government needed sustainable models that could be integrated into existing urban systems.

This realisation became a strong foundation for advocating for a coordinated city approach to care and ultimately contributed to the establishment of the Care Sector Technical Working Group in Nairobi. The Technical Working Group has become an important platform bringing together county departments, development partners, civil society organisations, researchers, community actors, and private sector stakeholders to collectively advance the care agenda. More importantly, it has helped position care not as a stand-alone gender issue, but as a cross-cutting development and governance priority.

The impact of this approach is already becoming visible. Care is increasingly being integrated into county conversations on planning, budgeting, infrastructure, and social development. There is growing recognition that investments in childcare directly support women’s economic inclusion, strengthen local economies, improve child wellbeing, and contribute to more inclusive cities. The Technical Working Group is also creating a stronger evidence base for policy development, coordination, and long-term institutionalization of care within county systems.

Reflections from the Women Deliver conference

One of the most encouraging aspects of the conference was seeing growing global recognition that care must move beyond isolated projects into systems transformation. Across discussions, there was a strong call for governments, civil society, communities, and the private sector to work together in building sustainable and inclusive care ecosystems.

A concept that deeply resonated with me was the idea of democratizing care, ensuring that care is not viewed as charity or a private family burden, but as a public good that citizens can actively demand from governments and institutions. This framing shifts care from being invisible labour to being a political and development priority. It challenges us to create societies where communities organise, advocate, and hold leaders accountable for accessible childcare, decent working conditions for caregivers, and investments in care infrastructure.

Another inspiring lesson emerged from the Freetown Caring City project, which is also part of the Scaling Care Innovations in Africa (SCIA) initiative, through the concept of Care Blocks. The idea is simple yet transformative: care services do not always need to be built from scratch. Instead, cities and communities can strengthen and adapt existing systems, spaces, and networks to deliver care more efficiently and sustainably. Markets, community centres, schools, health facilities, and neighbourhood structures can all become entry points for integrated care services. This approach is especially relevant for rapidly growing cities like Nairobi, where innovation often lies in maximising what already exists within communities rather than creating parallel systems.

Equally impactful were the conversations around male engagement in care work, particularly lessons shared by Equimundo, who are partners in the SCIA project Engaging Men for Care Equality – Scaling Bandebereho in Rwanda. Their work reinforced that transforming care systems requires transforming social norms. Care cannot remain the responsibility of women alone. Men and boys must be intentionally engaged as caregivers, advocates, and partners in building more equal households and societies. When men participate meaningfully in caregiving, the benefits extend beyond households to workplaces, communities, and national economies.

Care: A defining issue of our time

The conference reaffirmed that care is one of the defining issues of our time. Whether through policy reform, community innovation, advocacy, or partnerships, there is growing momentum around recognising care as essential infrastructure for inclusive development.

As Nairobi continues advancing childcare solutions and strengthening the Care Sector Technical Working Group, the lessons from Women Deliver offer both inspiration and direction. The path forward lies not only in creating new programmes, but in building movements, strengthening systems, and ensuring that care becomes visible, valued, and demanded by citizens everywhere!