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• Positioning Early Child Development in the Post-2015 Agenda
  Aisha K Yousafzai
  Published on: 27 April 2015

• Published on: 27 April 2015

  Positioning Early Child Development in the Post-2015 Agenda

  • Aisha K Yousafzai
  • Other Contributors:
    • Pia Britto (UNICEF, New York, USA), Bernadette Daelmans (WHO, Geneva, Switzerland), Linda Richter (Human Sciences Research Council, Durban, South Africa)

  The Archives of Disease in Childhood series on the progress achieved towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) draws attention to significant progress globally. Requejo and Bhutta [1] report the progress for MDG 4 (reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under -five mortality rate). The number of child deaths has been reduced by half to around 6.3 million. Keeping attention on child survival is nece...

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  The Archives of Disease in Childhood series on the progress achieved towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) draws attention to significant progress globally. Requejo and Bhutta [1] report the progress for MDG 4 (reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under -five mortality rate). The number of child deaths has been reduced by half to around 6.3 million. Keeping attention on child survival is necessary if we are to end the preventable deaths of 17, 000 children who still die each day; however, a sole focus on survival ignores the reality of the quality of life for the children who survive. More than 200 million children under 5 years of age are at risk of not reaching their full developmental potential [2]. These children are largely concentrated in the same countries with poor survival rates as the risks for survival and development are largely the same, namely malnutrition, poverty, disease, neglect and a lack of learning opportunities.

  The long term impact of adversity in early childhood includes lower educational attainment and economic productivity, poorer health outcomes, increased risks of chronic conditions such as obesity and cardiovascular diseases, and increased risks of mental health problems and violence[3-4]. Mechanisms underlying many of these poor life outcomes operate through compromised early brain development. Interventions in early life that protect and promote cognitive and social-emotional functioning are as critical as efforts to protect and promote survival and physical health. Interventions to mitigate risks such as malnutrition and preventable illnesses improve children's health, growth and development, but alone they do not enable children to catch up to cognitive levels of healthy nourished children.

  Children also require stable, nurturing and responsive care, opportunities to learn, and safe and healthy environments. Without strategies to address both the survival and development of children, the lost potential and long term costs to individuals and society remain high. The 2014 special series in the 'Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences' on child development and nutrition reported that low cost interventions to promote early learning, care and development are effective, including when integrated with health and nutrition services. Since then, important evidence has emerged about the long-term effects of care for development intervention on educational attainment and long-term productivity[5].

  Inequalities between children precede birth and grow wider in environments that fail to support their development. Interventions in early childhood have the potential to reduce these inequalities. Early child development (ECD) programmes for young children and families are among the most promising approaches to alleviating poverty and achieving social and economic equity. The UN Secretary General synthesis report on the post-2015 agenda 'The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet' (Documents\post-- 2015\synthesis report\N1467001.pdf) presents a transformational approach that builds around 6 elements that will help us deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals. ECD is part of this new agenda as a clear strategy for investment in 'People.' The acknowledgement of ECD in a global development framework recognizes the early years as the foundation for human development and life-long learning.

  The child health community has an obligation to ensure that all children survive and thrive. Efforts to reduce mortality and improve health must be accompanied by investments to promote children's optimal social-emotional, cognitive and linguistic development as a foundation for a sustainable development.

  The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this publication and they do not necessarily represent the decisions or the stated policies of WHO or of UNICEF.

  1.Requejo JH, Bhutta ZA (2015). The post-2015 agenda: staying the course in maternal and child survival. Archives Disease in Childhood; 100 (Suppl 1):s76-s81.

  2.Grantham-McGregor SM Grantham-McGregor SM, Cheung Y, Cueto S, Glewwe P, Richter L, Strupp B. (2007). Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries. Lancet; 369:60-70.

  3.Walker SP, Chang SM, Vera-Hernandez M, Grantham-McGregor S (2011). Early childhood stimulation benefits adult competence and reduces violent behavior. Pediatrics; 127(5):849-57.

  4.Campbell F, Conti G, Heckman JJ, Moon SH, Pinto R, Pungello E, et al (2014). Early childhood investments substantially boost adult health. Science; 343(6178):1478-85.

  5.Gertler P, Heckman J, Pinto R, Zanolini A, Vermeersch C, Walker S, Change SM, Grantham-McGregor S (2014). Labor market returns to an early childhood stimulation intervention in Jamaica. Science, 344; 998-1001

  Conflict of Interest:

  None declared

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  Conflict of Interest:
  None declared.

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