Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], Aug 5 2026: Divi’s Foundation for Gifted Children (DFGC) and UNICEF India today renewed their strategic partnership to strengthen disability-inclusive early childhood development, with a special focus on high-risk infants and young children. Under the new phase of the partnership, from August 2026 to July 2029, the collaboration will build on the progress made during the first phase while strengthening sustainable systems for the early identification of developmental delays and coordinated care.
Nilima Prasad Divi, Managing Trustee, DFGC, and Cynthia McCaffrey, Representative, UNICEF India signed the agreement. Dr. Pramod Gaddam, President of DFGC welcomed the renewal and reaffirmed the Foundation’s commitment to helping children in India reach their full potential.
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The first phase of the partnership, from 2023 to 2026, laid the foundation for stronger disability inclusive early childhood development systems. During this period, more than 20,000 frontline workers and 50,000 paediatricians were trained, while nurturing care was strengthened across 2,200 Anganwadi centres. Centres of Excellence were established to support clinical care, training and mentoring, alongside district models and standardised clinical guidelines that strengthened early identification and timely referral of children with developmental delays and disabilities.
Speaking on the partnership, Ms. Divi said, “Creating lasting impact for children requires strong partnerships and resilient public systems. Our partnership with UNICEF reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that every child, regardless of ability or circumstance, has the opportunity to thrive. Together, we are strengthening disability-inclusive early childhood development systems that can deliver lasting change.”
Ms McCaffrey said, “The earliest years of a child’s life determine how they develop, learn and thrive in later years. Through this renewed partnership, UNICEF will support strengthening systems that help early detection of developmental delays, connect children and families to timely support, and advance disability-inclusive services so that every child is enabled to reach their full potential.”
The systems are already helping children with developmental concerns to be found and referred earlier, for receiving timely support during the critical early years of brain development, when interventions have the greatest impact.
Building on this progress, the next phase of the partnership will strengthen Centres of Excellence as clinical and mentoring hubs, expand district care through District Early Intervention Centres (DEICs) and deepen support for families and caregivers. It will also strengthen operational systems to for services to function in a timely, coordinated and disability inclusive manner.
Together, DFGC and UNICEF India aim to identify more children early and reach more families to receive timely support, so that every child, regardless of circumstance, can survive, thrive and reach their full potential.
