Cultural and contextual considerations in designing programs to support the incorporation of early childhood development within ongoing national nutrition programmes: A focus on the Baby-Friendly Community Initiative (BFCI) in a rural African context

Abstract The Baby Friendly Community Initiative (BFCI) offers a unique platform for integration of counselling on early childhood development (ECD) with existing maternal and child health and nutrition messages. To understand how to efficiently deliver such a program, this study determined the feasibility of integrating counselling on child stimulation into the Kenyan BFCI activities. Qualitative interviews (N=97) among female (aged 15-49 years) and male users, stakeholders, and services providers in Koibatek sub-County (mainly inhabited by the Tugen people, a Nilotic group in sub-Saharan Africa) provided extensive information on understanding regarding ECD, caregiving beliefs, needs at different levels and barriers and facilitators. Contextual influences and existing health system infrastructure are important considerations when designing integrated interventions to improve nurturing care of children.

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Facilitating the Participation of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Development Centres in Malawi: Developing a Sustainable Staff Training Programme

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12052104 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 2104

Author(s):

Anita Soni ◽

Paul Lynch ◽

Mike McLinden ◽

Jenipher Mbukwa-Ngwira ◽

Mika Mankhwazi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Low Income ◽

Children With Disabilities ◽

Early Childhood Development ◽

National Policy ◽

Training Programme ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Childhood Development ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Sub Saharan

This article explores the development of a sustainable training programme supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood, education and care (ECEC) centres in Malawi. This programme is based on a review of literature of curriculum, pedagogy and teaching approaches in ECEC in sub-Saharan Africa, alongside a review of national policy documents. The training was designed to enable staff to value the inclusion of children with disabilities in ECEC centres, as well as suggesting practical ways to do so. We set out our response to the gap in training of ECEC staff through the development of a supplementary integrated training programme, which, whilst respectful of the curriculum, policy and practice of Malawi, challenged staff to consider ways of including children with disabilities (CWD) and their families. We suggest this is a pragmatic and sustainable model that could be applied to training in other ECEC settings across the region in sub-Saharan Africa. It concludes with guiding principles for training those working in ECEC with young children with disabilities in low-income countries.

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‘Grandmother, aren’t you going to sing for us?’ Current childcare practices and caregivers’ perceptions of and receptivity to early childhood development activities in rural Burkina Faso

BMJ Global Health ◽

10.1136/bmjgh-2018-001233 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. e001233 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jennifer Hollowell ◽

Mari Dumbaugh ◽

Mireille Belem ◽

Sylvain Kousse ◽

Tessa Swigart ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Young Children ◽

Burkina Faso ◽

Early Childhood Development ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Childhood Development ◽

Media Intervention ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Children's Development ◽

Children’S Development

IntroductionEffective stimulation and responsive caregiving during the first 2 years is crucial for children’s development. By age 3–4 years, over 40% of children in sub-Saharan Africa fail to meet basic cognitive or socioemotional milestones, but there are limited data on parenting and childcare practices. This study, conducted to inform the design of a mass media intervention, explored practices, perceptions, motivators and obstacles to childhood development-related practices among parents and caregivers of children aged 0–2 years in rural Burkina Faso.MethodsWe performed two rounds of six focus groups with 41 informants in two villages, using an adapted version of the Trials of Improved Practices methodology. These first explored beliefs and practices, then introduced participants to the principles and benefits of early childhood development (ECD) and provided illustrative examples of three practices (interactive ways of talking, playing and praising) to try with their children. One week later, further discussions explored participants’ experiences and reactions. Data were analysed inductively using thematic content analysis.ResultsExisting activities with young children were predominantly instructive with limited responsive interaction and stimulation. Participants were receptive to the practices introduced, noted positive changes in their children when they adopted these practices and found engagement with children personally rewarding.ConclusionInteractive, stimulating activities with young children did not appear to be widespread in the study area, but caregivers were receptive to information about the importance of early stimulation for children’s development. ECD messages should be tailored to the local sociocultural context and consider time limitations.

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Mini-Review on Capacity-Building for Data-Driven Early Childhood Systems: The Consortium for Pre-primary Data and Measurement in Sub-Saharan Africa

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2020.595821 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Abbie Raikes ◽

Rebecca Sayre ◽

Dawn Davis

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Education ◽

Early Childhood Development ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Childhood Development ◽

Data Driven ◽

Primary Data ◽

Childhood Education ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Early Childhood Systems

Low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are increasing investments in early childhood development programs, including early childhood education. As programs reach scale, there is increasing demand for evidence on impacts of investments. Little work to date has examined capacity required to effectively use data at scale in LMIC, including opportunities and barriers to integrating data into ongoing program implementation and tracking child development and quality of services at scale. Below, we outline the rationale and approach of the Consortium for Pre-primary Data and Measurement in Sub-Saharan Africa, focused on building capacity for data-driven decision-making in early childhood systems. Themes from the first phase include the importance of building diverse groups of stakeholders to define priorities for data and measurement, the need for coordinated and strategic investments in data and measurement, and the value of long-term investments in government/civil society/university partnerships to generate locally relevant data on early childhood education.

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Early Education of orphans and vulnerable children: A crucial aspect for social justice and African development

Koers - Bulletin for Christian Scholarship ◽

10.19108/koers.83.1.2335 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 83 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Jace Pillay

Keyword(s):

Social Justice ◽

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Development ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Childhood Development ◽

Vulnerable Children ◽

Orphans And Vulnerable Children ◽

Research Findings ◽

Education Interventions ◽

Sub Saharan

In the last decade there has been a significant escalation in the number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in various parts of the world, more particularly, in Sub- Saharan Africa. The author strongly asserts that early childhood education is the main vehicle to address the concerns of OVC in order for them to develop skills and human capital as future adults in order to improve the outcomes for governance and economic development in Africa. He argues on the basis of inclusion that a social justice framework is essential in taking the rights of OVC into consideration. Adopting a bio- ecological systems theoretical model the author presents research findings on the educational, psychological and social experiences of OVC to motivate the need for African governments to take on the responsibility of addressing the plight of OVC through early childhood development and education interventions if they are serious about economic sustainability and prosperity. Although the research discussed in this paper was conducted in South Africa the author believes that the findings could easily depict what happens in the rest of Africa. In concluding, the author considers the implications of the findings in relation to future policies and directions needed for crucial development in Africa.

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Fatherhood and Early Childhood Development: Perspectives from Sub-Saharan Africa

Handbook of Fathers and Child Development ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-51027-5_27 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 459-471

Author(s):

Stephan Rabie ◽

Sarah Skeen ◽

Mark Tomlinson

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Development ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Childhood Development ◽

Sub Saharan

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Optimising the use of routine immunisation clinics for early childhood development in sub-Saharan Africa

Vaccine ◽

10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.04.017 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 27 (28) ◽

pp. 3719-3723 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Bolajoko O. Olusanya

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Development ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Childhood Development ◽

Routine Immunisation ◽

Sub Saharan

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Housing environment and early childhood development in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-sectional analysis

PLoS Medicine ◽

10.1371/journal.pmed.1003578 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. e1003578

Author(s):

Yaqing Gao ◽

Long Zhang ◽

Ashish Kc ◽

Yinping Wang ◽

Siyu Zou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Emotional Development ◽

Early Childhood Development ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Childhood Development ◽

Social Emotional Development ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Improved Sanitation ◽

Sub Saharan

Background The influence of the safety and security of environments on early childhood development (ECD) has been under-explored. Although housing might be linked to ECD by affecting a child’s health and a parent’s ability to provide adequate care, only a few studies have examined this factor. We hypothesized that housing environment is associated with ECD in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods and findings From 92,433 children aged 36 to 59 months who participated in Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) in 20 SSA countries, 88,271 were tested for cognitive and social–emotional development using the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) questionnaire and were thus included in this cross-sectional analysis. Children’s mean age was 47.2 months, and 49.8% were girls. Children were considered developmentally on track in a certain domain if they failed no more than 1 ECDI item in that domain. In each country, we used conditional logistic regression models to estimate the association between improved housing (housing with finished building materials, improved drinking water, improved sanitation facilities, and sufficient living area) and children’s cognitive and social–emotional development, accounting for contextual effects and socioeconomic factors. Estimates from each country were pooled using random-effects meta-analyses. Subgroup analyses were conducted by the child’s gender, maternal education, and household wealth quintiles. On-track cognitive development was associated with improved housing (odds ratio [OR] = 1.15, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.24, p < 0.001), improved drinking water (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.14, p = 0.046), improved sanitation facilities (OR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.28, p = 0.014), and sufficient living area (OR = 1.06, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.10, p = 0.018). On-track social–emotional development was associated with improved housing only in girls (OR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.25, p = 0.006). The main limitations of this study included the cross-sectional nature of the datasets and the use of the ECDI, which lacks sensitivity to measure ECD outcomes. Conclusions In this study, we observed that improved housing was associated with on-track cognitive development and with on-track social–emotional development in girls. These findings suggest that housing improvement in SSA may be associated not only with benefits for children’s physical health but also with broader aspects of healthy child development.

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Evaluation of the feasibility and effectiveness of a health facility-based combined with home-based early childhood development intervention in Siaya County, Kenya: a cluster-randomized control trial

International Journal of Clinical Trials ◽

10.18203/2349-3259.ijct20203107 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 200

Author(s):

Patricia Kitsao-Wekulo ◽

Hermann P. P. Domfouet ◽

Silas Onyango ◽

Milka Wanjohi ◽

Debjeet Sen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Health Facility ◽

Early Childhood Development ◽

Current Control ◽

Health Facilities ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Childhood Development ◽

Home Based ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Cluster Randomized

Background: Approximately 250 million (43%) children under five years in low- and middle-income countries are at risk of sub-optimal development. Of these, 67% are found in sub-Saharan Africa due to exposure to multiple risks, including inadequate stimulation at home. In order to promote early childhood development (ECD), an intervention integrating ECD content into routine facility-based health services and supporting ECD policy and advocacy is currently being implemented in Siaya County. In addition, parental counseling on early stimulation is integrated into home-based visits by community health volunteers. We aim to evaluate the intervention’s operational feasibility, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.Methods: The study is a cluster-randomized controlled trial using a mixed-methods approach. The study is being conducted in Bondo sub-county in Siaya County. The study has three arms. Arm 1 will receive a health facility-based ECD intervention. Arm 2 will receive the health facility-based ECD intervention combined with home-based ECD counselling. Arm 3 (control) will receive standard care. Six health facilities in each study arm (18 in total) will be randomly selected from wards within the sub-county. We aim to recruit and follow-up 699 mother/caregiver-child dyads, 233 in each arm. Pregnant women are recruited when they visit health facilities during the third trimester. Analysis will involve estimating the effect of the intervention using mixed linear models and the Difference-in-Differences estimator.Conclusions: The data generated from this study will provide much-needed information for program design and implementation of interventions aimed at promoting ECD in Kenya and other sub-Saharan African countries.Trial Registration: Current Control Trial is ISRCTN11561283.

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