UNICEF: Programme guidance for early childhood development

Overview

Over 43 per cent of children under the age of 5 are at risk of not fulfilling their full developmental potential,1 due to risks of poverty, poor nutrition and a lack of access to basic services and early enriching opportunities.2 Additionally, in a world where prolonged conflicts and emergencies wrought by a changing climate are increasing, 1 in 11 children aged 7 and younger has spent the formative early years of his or her life surrounded by protracted war and conflict.3 Juxtaposed against this inequity is the invaluable evidence gained from the remarkable advances in neuroscience that show that a child’s development (including development of the brain) is fundamentally shaped by their environment in the earliest years of their life. The inclusion of Early Childhood Development (ECD) for the first time on the global development agenda represents a unique opportunity to galvanise efforts around it.

Produced by: UNICEF