Pia Rebello Britto. Ph.D.
66th OMEP World Assembly & International Conference Cork, Ireland July 4th, 2014
Early Childhood Development: The Indispensable
Foundation for
Social, Economic
and Sustainable
Development
Overview
1. Association between Early Childhood Development and Sustainable Development: a. Brain Development – Individual and society
b. Peace Building and Conflict
c. ECD and Environmental Sustainability
2. Global Policy - Post-2015 Discussions, where we are:a. Millennium Development Goals
b. 4 work-streams Post 2015 process
c. Advocacy Efforts and Results
3. How Can We Achieve our Goal? d. ECD goal – targets & indicators
e. Lobby with Heads of State
Part 1: Association between
Early Childhood Development and Sustainable Development
Early brain development & function is the foundation for life long learning, behavior and capabilities
Promoting Peace and Security
Creating a global movement for peace that draws on the transformative power of early childhood development
ECD and Environmental Sustainability
Biophilia: the love for nature is
developed and sustained in
early childhood
Early learning pedagogies
build an appreciation
for the environment
that is life long
Part 2: Global Policy: Post-2015
Where we are
Unfinished Business of MDGs: Achievements
• Half a billion fewer people in extreme poverty• Three million children’s lives saved• Four out of five children get vaccinated• Huge improvements in reduction of maternal mortality• 590 million children attend primary school
United Nations (2013). Report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
Achieving MDGs with Equity: Role of ECD
• Decline in survival rates masks the uneven progress leaving behind the marginalized– Through ECD Parenting programs improved
outcomes are noted for child health, nutrition, learning and development, in marginalized and disadvantaged communities
• 58 million out-of-school children are the hardest to reach – ECD programs benefit those who are the hardest to
reach and children’s learning outcomes noted in improved academic achievement and lowered drop out rates
Framework for Post-2015
UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda (2012) Realizing the World We Want for All. Report to the Secretary-General
Formal Inception of the Process
• UN Secretary General• High-level Panel of 27 Eminent Persons
– Co-chairs: • His Excellency President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (Indonesia)• Her Excellency President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia)• His Excellency Prime Minister David Cameron (United Kingdom)
• UN System Task Team led jointly by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to lead system-wide preparations for the post-2015 UN development agenda with support from all UN agencies and in consultation with relevant stakeholders.
• Country Consultation Teams
Post- 2015 Work Streams
Where is ECD? 1st Work Stream
• Empower Girls and Women to Achieve Gender Equality (reduction of gender based violence)
• Provide Quality Education and Life Long Learning(increase in % of children with access to pre-primary education)
• Ensure Healthy Lives (reduction in mortality and increase in immunization)
• Ensure food security and good nutrition (reduction in stunting, wasting and anemia by age 5 years)
• Ensure good governance and effective institutions (birth registration)
• Ensure Stable and Peaceful societies (reduction in violence against children)
The age period is addressed – but do these goals and targets address “development?
High Level Panel Report (May, 2013) Goals & Targets
Where is ECD? 3rd Work Stream
• Ensure effective learning for all children and youth for life and livelihood– All children under the age of 5 reach their developmental potential
through access to quality early childhood development programs and policies
– Sample indicators:• Suffer pre-term birth and low birth-weight• Stunted growth; Receiving nutrition interventions• Living in households above poverty• Rate of developmental delays• Access to 1 year quality pre-primary• Public spending• Basic competencies by age 8
Sustainable Development Solutions Network (Sept, 2013) The Future of Our Children: Lifelong, Multi-Generational Learning for Sustainable Development
Chavan, Yoshikawa, & Bahadur, 2013
Where is ECD? 4th Work Stream
• July 2014 zero draft, ECD is included under the proposed goal # 4 on equitable and inclusive quality education
• ECD goal # 4.1:
“ By 2030 provide all children access to quality early childhood care and pre-primary education ”
Post- 2015 Work Streams
How did we get this result? Position Papers
• Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development– A Transformative Solution: Reducing Poverty and Inequality
through a post-2015 Early Childhood Development Goal
• Institute of Medicine (Aber, Klaus & Lombardi, 2013)– Reduce by half the number of children who fail to reach their
developmental potential
• University of Northampton Early Years Summit (Ulkuer, 2013)– ECSD Goal: All young children develop their full potential - to
become physically healthy, mentally alert, socially competent, emotionally sound and able to learn
How did we get this result? Partnerships & Champions
National Consultation on ECD on the post-2015 Agenda (January, 2013) Champion: Mayor Topas, Istanbul
(Eminent Person, HLP)
“Child Development: Is the Future
We Want for All Children”
Petition to Ban Ki Moon; Meeting with Amina Mohammed, Special Advisor to the SG on post-2015 (June 2014)Champion: RT Hon. Dame Tessa Jowell
“Make ECD Central to the Post-2015
Development Framework”
How did we get this result? Unrelenting Advocacy
Side Event at the 12th Session of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, New York, June 16, 2014
Early Childhood Development: The Foundation for Sustainable Human Development for 2015 and Beyond
Where is ECD?
• There have been several efforts• We have a few entry points• However we have to ratchet up the
efforts if we are serious about getting ECD into the post-2015 framework
In Summary
PART 3:HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE OUR GOAL?
Proposed ECD Goal
(i.e., All children, from conception by 8 years of age will reach their developmental potential)
This statement presents the results of wide-spread global consultations and proposals over the past 18 months, with Government Agencies, International Development Agencies, International Non-Governmental Organizations, National and Local Non-Governmental Organizations, Bi-Lateral Aid Organizations, Academia, and Individual
Ensure all Girls and Boys Get the Best Start in Life
Target 1: Ensure that all children are healthy, socially and emotionally competent, resilient, respectful of diversity and learning successfully
Proposed Indicators: • Proportion of children achieving developmental potential
beginning from birth (e.g. EDCI, UNICEF) • Decrease % of children affected by stunting at age 2
(MICS)• Increase child physical and mental health status.
Decrease child morbidity (diarrhea, pneumonia, etc.)• Pre-primary and early grade competencies (learning
metrics)• Children’s respect for difference and diversity
Measuring ECD through MICS: Early Childhood Development Index
ECD Index and Human Development Index
Correlation between ECD index and Human Development Index. Note: ECDI and HDI are highly correlated. 0.1 point gain in HDI is associated to 0.1125 point gain in ECDI.
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.80.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
DRC
Chad
CAF
Sierra Leone
Gambia
Togo
Nepal
NigeriaPakistan
Swaziland
Bhutan
Laos
GhanaIraq
Viet NamMongolia
Suriname
Belize
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Macedonia
Kazakhstan
Serbia
HDI in 2012
% E
CD o
n ta
rget
in M
ICS4
A high correlations between ECDI and HDI indicating: ECD is the foundation of Human Development and the higher the Human development Index (HDI) for a country, the higher the chances for a young child to be on track in his/her development
Target 2: Proportion of children experiencing positive, responsive, sensitive and nurturing child-rearing practices in safe and peaceful environments
Proposed Indicators: • Proportion of children living in physically safe
environment• Proportion of parental/adult involvement in early
learning at home• Proportion of children experiencing harsh discipline
and other forms of violence and abuse• Proportion of children left home alone without
supervision• Proportion of mothers experiencing depression and
domestic violence
Measuring ECD through MICS: Indicator on Adult Support for Learning
Gambia
SwazilandNepal
Ghana
DRC
Bhutan
Togo
Sierra Leone
Chad Lao
sIraq
CAF
Nigeria
Mongolia
Suriname
Vietnam
Kazakhstan
Macedonia
Belize
Serbia
Bosnia and Herze
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
motherfatherotherNational Average
Adult support for learning aggregated by type of adult.
Measuring ECD through MICS: Indicator on Availability of Children’s Books at home
Availability of children’s books aggregated by wealth *Analysis of significance included 16 countries, all of which showed a statistically significant difference at the 1 per cent level (p≤0.01). *Global Average data is currently available from countries only as of October 2013.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100Poorest quintile Richest quintile National average
Global Average: All Children 13.2% poorest quintile: 4.1% richest quin-tile : 32.3%
Target 3: Ensure equitable access to quality, inclusive, and sustainable early childhood programmes and services
Proposed Indicators:• Implementation of family support and child protection policies through
national budgets and established governance of coordination especially for at-risk children and families.
• Increase total budget allocation for ECD programmes across different sectors as a percentage of GDP.
• Enrollment of children in under 3 years in integrated ECD programmes , in 2 years of pre-school education, and early grade primary programmes
• Proportion children with disabilities enrolled in inclusive and early childhood intervention programmes
• Increase by X% number of at-risk children, and primary caregivers who receive psycho-social support, especially in conflicts and emergencies
• Increase in child care programmes for working women
Measuring ECD through MICS:Indicator on Attendance to Early Childhood Education
Attendance to early childhood education aggregated by wealth *Analysis of significance included 16 countries, 15 of which showed a statistically significant difference at the 1 per cent level (p≤.01). In Swaziland no statistically significant difference was found. *Global Average data is currently available from countries only as of October 2013.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Poorest quintile Richest quintile National average
Global Average: All children 20.8% Poorest 9.2% Richest 41.9%
What Advocacy Action is required?
• We need to speak with 1 Voice: United Community
• Advocate with our governments to ensure that they will not accept a post-2015 framework that does not include early development
Call to Action: Time to Act is Now
• Key Ask: Will you champion ECD to become a central piece of the post-2015 development framework?
• How: Advocate with your Head of State to include ECD in their “key asks” for post-2015
Each one of us has to pledge on the concrete action we will take to mobilize our national government to include ECD
until we achieve our goal
For more information, please contact
Dr Pia Rebello Britto
Title: Chief and Senior Adviser, ECD unit, NYHQ
United Nations Children’s Fund
3 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017, USA
Tel: 212-326-7000
www.unicef.org
