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The Nurturing Care Framework has the potential to improve the lives of millions of children worldwide and to boost the global economy by trillions of dollars, according to two U.S. analysts writing for the Seattle Times. Peter Laugharn is President and CEO of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and Steve Davis is President and CEO of PATH. The two express strong joint support for the approach: “These interventions are cost-effective, relatively easy to provide, and can even be added to existing programs. And they deliver an incredible financial return to communities.” In discussing these claims, the authors cite the work of Nobel laureate economist James Heckman, who has shown that investment in children aged 0-3 produces the highest financial returns. Read More →

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This 20th anniversary edition features 26 articles, from a parenting programme informed by the Gross National Happiness policy in Bhutan to community health workers’ use of technology to treat maternal depression in Pakistan. Highlighting innovations, the path to scale and emerging initiatives in the field, Early Childhood Matters is again guest-edited by international early childhood expert Joan Lombardi.Read More →

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In putting together the 2019 Global Education Monitoring Report, UNESCO commissioned a paper that considered the role of nurturing care in crisis settings. The authors envisage a key role for the Framework: “The most urgent need for children age 0 to 6 in crisis settings “is the political will to recognize the need for young children to receive nurturing care and to implement the science at scale”.”Read More →

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The 2018 monitoring report for the Every Woman Every Child global strategy for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health provides updates on progress towards the Survive, Thrive, and Transform goals, which were set out in the 2016-2030 global strategy. The report recommends implementing the Nurturing Care Framework as the first strategic priority for achieving the goals set forth for early childhood development. It also includes a section summarizing the latest evidence for early childhood development, and highlighting the importance of nurturing care.Read More →

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Published in the Journal of Public Health (February 2019), “The effect of a community-based, integrated and nurturing care intervention on early childhood development in rural China” explores whether attention to nurturing care can promote developmental health and reduce developmental delays. The community-based program was implemented in four counties of China, serving parents and their children aged 3 and under. The intervention included attention to all five components of nurturing care. Findings suggest that attention to nurturing care can lead to a reduction in the prevalence of suspected neurodevelopmental delay in children.Read More →

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A recent paper in The Journal of Nutrition recommends: “Expanding conceptual models of child development to include the 5 components of the Nurturing Care Framework”, and says: “…health and nutrition alone may not be sufficient if children do not experience the learning opportunities, responsive caregiving, and security and safety that are part of the Nurturing Care Framework.”Read More →

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The evidence for combined interventions is growing! In this systematic review and meta-analysis of early life interventions, the authors found that interventions that resulted in effects on linear growth (e.g., nutritional supplementation) were not significantly associated with effects on cognitive, language, or motor development scores. To ensure benefits for linear growth and neurobehavioural development we need to go beyond nutritional supplementation programming and include interventions targeting caregiving behaviour and learning opportunities that support the development of cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional skills.Read More →

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Understanding donor, government and out-of-pocket funding for early child development (ECD) is important for tracking progress. This paper, published in the British Medical Journal’s Archives of Disease in Childhood, aims to estimate a baseline for the Nurturing Care Framework, with a special focus on childhood disability.Read More →

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Writing for the Daily Maverick, Director of Advocacy Aid Patricia Martin-Wiesner argues that achieving South Africa’s development vision in the next 25 years is possible if the country’s leadership prioritises the inclusive and equal development of children. Nurturing care is a formula for transformative, inclusive growth and development.Read More →

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A new WHO guideline provides global, evidence-informed recommendations on improving early childhood development through interventions that support responsive caregiving and early learning. Evidence shows that early childhood development is an outcome of healthy, nurturing interactions between caregivers and children, and as such, the guideline focuses on the needs of both the caregivers and young children.Read More →

This guidance note specifically targets the health sector and aims to catalyse country-level dialogue and action focusing on health service delivery and systems strengthening, while also outlining complementary actions by other sectors. It is relevant for national governments, specifically ministries of health, and for national and global development partners and other stakeholders. Read More →