This paper explores the experiences of neonatal health care providers caring for small and sick newborns during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey in three languages was used to collect data on COVID-19 preparedness, effects on health personnel and on newborn care services, including kangaroo mother care, as well as disruptors and solutions. There were 1120 responses from 62 countries, mainly low and middle-income countries.Read More →

This paper finds considerable inconsistency in guidance documents from 33 countries regarding breastfeeding and newborn care. None of the guidance documents reviewed recommended all aspects of WHO guidance. In this paper, health care providers from 62 countries share their experiences of caring for small and sick newborns during the COVID.-19 pandemic.Read More →

This course helps you to design sustainable and culturally relevant parenting programmes that are responsive to the issues or problems in children’s development and well-being in your context. By taking this course, you will be able to prioritise issues in children’s development and define the changes you want to see in parents, make decisions about how to deliver a programme, and start to develop strategies and content for your parenting programme.Read More →

This course is a resource for parents or those who work with parents of young children to support them to provide brain-building experiences and nurturing care. You’ll gain an understanding of who the caregivers of young children are in your context. It will help you to better understand how the life experiences, environment, relationships, and beliefs of parents shape the kind of opportunities, care, and support a parent is able to provide his or her child. Knowing this will help the parent and those who work with parents to support them to overcome challenges.Read More →

Video from the Africa Early Childhood Network (AfECN): A staggering 2 out of every 3 children in Africa live in extreme poverty with inadequate nutrition, in unstable communities, lacking social services for family and caregiver support. These children suffer poor developmental outcomes, reduced productivity and are less able to help their own children grow and develop.Read More →

In 2016, the Government of Ghana reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring children in the first 1000 days had every opportunity to survive and thrive. To this end, the Government of Ghana dedicated personnel and put in place coordinating mechanisms to ensure all children received nurturing care from birth. This brief describes the actions taken in the health sector between 2016 and 2019, championed by the Government of Ghana, to elevate attention to and services for children aged 0-3 years. Read More →

This series considers new scientific evidence for interventions, building on the findings and recommendations of two previous Lancet series on child development (2007, 2011), and proposes pathways for implementation of early childhood development at scale. The series emphasises ‘nurturing care’, especially for children below three years of age, and multi-sectoral interventions starting with health, which can have wide reach to families and young children through health and nutrition.Read More →

This document, along with a 9-page brief, describes the implementation experiences and emerging lessons of COVID-19 response strategies of seven programmes that prioritize nurturing care and early childhood development. The case studies include a wide range of geographic contexts and the programmes address at least one of three components of nurturing care: responsive caregiving, opportunities for early learning, and safety and security. The seven programmes are: Associazione 21 Luglio (Italy); Ummeed Child Development Center (India); Nobody’s Perfect Parenting Programme (Canada); Kangaroo Foundation (Colombia); International Rescue Committee & Sesame Workshop [Ahlan Simsim programme] (Jordan); Parenting for Lifelong Health [MaPa programme] (Philippines); and PATH Mozambique.Read More →

This toolkit was developed as part of the Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP) Ghana ECD 0-3 Program. It is intended to prepare frontline workers delivering community health services to equip parents and caregivers to develop responsive caregiving skills and engage in early learning activities with their children. The toolkit includes a training-of-trainers guide, flipcharts, and a parenting sessions manual.Read More →

ARNEC keeps its commitment to exploring the nexus between the protection, security, and well-being of young children and the health of the physical environment. The 2020 issue of ARNEC Connections brings you the views and expertise of ECD professionals on the risks young children face in different contexts of environmental degradation and climate change, as well as the call for collective action to address these.Read More →

This is a 7-week self-paced online course (approximately 1-3 hours per week). It begins with a review of basic ECD concepts and implementation programmes around the world, and looks at why some programmes succeed where others do less well, and what strategies are key for enabling widespread adaptation of quality programming. For those working around the world in early childhood development programmes, the course allows you to reflect and evaluate your own organization by reviewing real-world case successes, as well as a new global perspective from other learners.Read More →

A total of 22 parliamentarians in Zambia, selected from the Committees on Health, Community Development & Social Services; and Education, Science & Technology, participated in a virtual advocacy meeting supported by WHO, UNICEF, and partners on 9 December 2020. The Members of Parliament were taken through the rationale for investing in early childhood development, learned about efforts underway in the country, and explored the potential role lawmakers could play to advance the nurturing care agenda.Read More →