Evidence and appreciative inquiry used to scale up interventions
Using a participatory process, the Aarambh (The Beginning) model engages frontline workers to deliver an adapted version of Care for Child Development in Maharashtra. The scaled-up model will engage 167,000 frontline workers and 7000 supervisors to cover a population of approximately 125 million.
Place-based community approach for nurturing care scaled up
Smart Start in Siaya County was one of Africa’s first initiatives to take a whole-of-government and place-based approach to improving ECD. With improved data and legislation, the model has been expanded to six more counties and integrated into five-year plans.
Implementation research to improve well-child consultations
Since 2014, PATH has worked closely with the Government of Mozambique on supporting capacity-building for counselling on responsive caregiving and early learning, accompanied by developmental monitoring in well-child consultations. PATH’s analysis enabled it to work with government to improve well-child consultations resulting in revised norms, updated registers, updated training curricula for nurses and new posters.
The business case for employer-supported childcare
A study of tea planation workers, who are mostly women, found that employer-supported childcare provided a return on investment of 20.71% and is critical for recruitment and productivity. Mothers spoke of improved health wellbeing among their children, access to freshly cooked food and a balanced diet, and regular visits from health care workers. A toolkit was developed to help employers set up ECD services.
Evidence-based apps reach caregivers on a large scale
Bebbo, launched by UNICEF in 2021, is a free parenting support app that provides caregivers with expert advice on a range of child health and development issues, from nutrition and breastfeeding to early learning and the value of play, responsive parenting, protection and safety. Available in 14 languages, the app has reached over 300 000 users.
