Despite growing interest in early childhood development, globally validated tools to assess the development of children under the age of three ​at population and programmatic level remain scarce. WHO has launched a new measurement tool: Global Scales for Early Development (GSED).

The theme for this fourth international conference was: Nurturing for Transforming Lives – The Power of Early Childhood Development. It brought together over 400 participants, including legislators and policymakers responsible for health, nutrition, child protection, education, and social welfare, ECD professionals/experts from private and public sectors, practitioners, researchers, civil society, UN agencies, donors, academicians, aspiring ECD professionals, and parent representatives.

UNICEF, WHO, Countdown to 2030 and PMNCH have launched the latest Countdown to 2030 national, equity, and early childhood development country profiles. The profiles present up-to-date evidence on progress in improving the health of women, children, and adolescents and help identify coverage gaps to better inform priorities for action.

Richard Horton, Editor in Chief of the Lancet, and a panel of experts came together for a live event at the Royal Society of Medicine, unpacking a new three-paper Lancet series which explores how the value of breastfeeding is wasted by government and public health, and exploited by the formula milk industry.

This virtual talanoa discussed key results of the Sharm El Sheik Climate Summit (COP27), and how they intersect with global early childhood development policy. Speakers shared their reflection on COP27and opportunities to elevate ECD as a fundamental building block of climate resilience, as well as a pathway to adaptation and mitigation.

This webinar, hosted by ARNEC, formally launched ‘From most vulnerable to most valuable: A scoping study to put young children at the heart of climate actions and environmental protection’.

The “Health systems for early child development” initiative and its related website offer a one-stop-shop for curated contemporary, evidence-based guidance, resources, and expertise on improving the quality of health care for young children in Europe and Central Asia.

A coalition of partners including WHO, UNICEF, Parenting for Lifelong Health, the Early Childhood Development Action Network, and the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, came together in May 2021 to launch the Global Initiative to Support Parents. On December 6 2022, ARNEC will host this second webinar in a series to support country-led efforts around specific topics.

US-Aid Advancing Nutrition have launched the Feeding and Disability Resource Bank. Webinar participants learned about the importance of addressing feeding difficulties and how this new resource can help nutrition programs become more inclusive.

An overview of the general components of multisectoral ECD monitoring, evaluation and reporting systems, including interagency agreements; official policy/regulatory documents to establish these systems; selection of SDG, regional and national-level indicators; creation of multisectoral databases; and linking data reports to participatory ECD policy planning and annual budget and programme planning and reporting.