The Way Forward: Some Policies and Programs to Promote Early Childhood Development in the Middle East and North Africa

AbstractBackgroundPolicies and programs that promote positive social environments for young children and their families have the potential to improve early childhood development and long-term health. However, due to the community-wide public health measures implemented to reduce transmission of COVID-19, many families are experiencing health and socio-economic challenges and pre-existing supports and services may no longer be available. In this study, we compared the policies and programs countries have implemented to support maternal and child health during the first wave of COVID-19.MethodsWe compared the policies and programs implemented to support child health and well-being during the first wave of COVID-19 in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Singapore, the UK, and the USA. A grey literature review was performed to identify policies, announcements, and guidelines released from governmental and public health organizations within each country related to children, parents, families, early childhood development, adverse childhood experiences, child welfare, pre-school, or daycares. We also performed a manual search of government websites. Both provincial and federal government policies were included for Canada.ResultsThe main policies identified were focused on prenatal care, well-baby visit and immunization schedules, financial supports, domestic violence and housing, childcare supports, child protective services, and food security. All of the included countries implemented some of these policies, but there was a large variation in the number, size, and barriers to access these supports. None of the countries implemented supports in all of the potential areas identified.ConclusionPolitical legacy and previous redistributive policies might have influenced the variation in policies and programs introduced by governments. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, further opportunity for governments to implement supportive programs and policies for children and families exists.

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Is this Early Childhood Development Ours? Deciphering what African Parents want their Children to Learn in Early Childhood Development

Teachers Work ◽

10.24135/teacherswork.v12i1.44 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 30-44 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Godfrey Ejuu

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Best Practices ◽

Culturally Relevant ◽

Early Childhood Development ◽

Childhood Development ◽

African Society ◽

African Context ◽

The Way

As modern Early Childhood Development begins to gain prominence in African communities, questions are beginning to emerge as to what sort of Early Childhood Development is being promoted as ‘best practices’. Thus, the discourse for and against western Early Childhood Development as opposed to indigenous Early Childhood Development and scope of each in a culturally contaminated African society continues to rage on. This paper highlights some of the issues and provides insights into what African Early Childhood Development researcher can do to lead the way in owning, redefining and rebuilding a more culturally relevant Early Childhood Development in the African context.

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Intersectoral Action for Early Childhood Development in India: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward

Indian Pediatrics ◽

10.1007/s13312-021-2352-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 58 (S1) ◽

pp. 28-31

Author(s):

Deepti Agrawal ◽

Benazir Patil ◽

Dipti Kapoor ◽

Pushpa Chaudhary

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Development ◽

Childhood Development ◽

Intersectoral Action ◽

The Way

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Does Place Matter? An International Comparison of Early Childhood Development Outcomes between the Metropolitan Areas of Melbourne, Australia and Montreal, Canada

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16162915 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (16) ◽

pp. 2915 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Catherine Dea ◽

Lise Gauvin ◽

Michel Fournier ◽

Sharon Goldfeld

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Development ◽

Metropolitan Areas ◽

International Comparisons ◽

Well Being ◽

Childhood Development ◽

Relative Risks ◽

Development Outcomes ◽

Policies And Programs ◽

The Impact

There is strong consensus about the importance of early childhood development (ECD) for improving population health and closing the health inequity gap. Environmental features and public policies across sectors and jurisdictions are known to influence ECD. International comparisons provide valuable opportunities to better understand the impact of these ecological determinants on ECD. This study compared ECD outcomes between metropolitan Melbourne (Australia) and Montreal (Canada), and contrasted disparities across demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Methods: Population wide surveys using the Early Development Instrument (EDI) were conducted among 4–6 years-old children in both Montreal and Melbourne in 2012, measuring five domains of ECD: 1-Physical Health/Well-Being (PHYS); 2-Social Competence (SOC); 3-Emotional Maturity (EMOT); 4-Language/Cognitive Development (COGN); and 5-Communication Skills/General Knowledge (COMM). Descriptive analyses of summary EDI indicators and domain indicators (including median scores and interquartile ranges) were compared between metropolitan areas, using their respective 95% confident intervals (CIs). Analyses were performed using Stata software (v14). Results: The proportion of children developmentally vulnerable in at least one domain of ECD was 26.8% (95% CIs: 26.2, 27.3) in Montreal vs. 19.2% (95% CIs: 18.8, 19.5) in Melbourne. The Melbourne advantage was greatest for EMOT and COGN (11.5% vs. 6.9%; 13.0% vs. 5.8%). In both Montreal and Melbourne, boys, immigrants, children not speaking the language of the majority at home, and those living in the most deprived areas were at greater risk of being developmentally vulnerable. Relative risks as a function of home language and area-level deprivation subgroups were smaller in Montreal than in Melbourne. Conclusion: This study shows that Melbourne’s children globally experience better ECD outcomes than Montreal’s children, but that inequity gaps are greater in Melbourne for language and area-level deprivation subgroups. Further research is warranted to identify the environmental factors, policies, and programs that account for these observed differences.

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