Preview: National committee donor toolkit A regional approach
UNICEF and Early Childhood Development in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States
ABOUT THIS PREVIEW The UNICEF CEE/CIS Regional Office is breaking new ground to produce the first ever Regional National committee donor toolkits. The toolkits will focus on three themes: Early Childhood Development, Health, and Most-atRisk Adolescents, making the case for cross-regional investment in cross-cutting issues. All three kits will be available in May 2011. This Preview sets out the ‘headlines’ from the forthcoming kit on Early Childhood Development. It provides a snapshot of our goals in this area, and a glimpse into the lives of those we reach. We encourage feedback from National committees as we prepare the full toolkits, and all comments are welcome.
Introduction UNICEF CEE/CIS is taking a crossregional approach to support for Roma families, with Early Childhood Development (ECD) front and centre. The global financial crisis is casting a long shadow over the lives of disadvantaged communities across Europe, and in particular the Roma. Already consigned to the edges of society, Roma families are being marginalized still further by the financial crisis, amid growing concerns about job losses, migration, tax spending and welfare costs. Xenophobia may pre-date the financial crisis but seems to have been aggravated by it, leading to greater isolation of Roma populations in many countries. At the same time, the EU enlargement process has focused attention on the situation of Roma, both in terms of human rights violations and the recognition that achieving a socially inclusive Europe by 2020 is impossible if they are left out. As a result, the Roma have moved up the political agenda of the European Union and its Member States. However, even mid-way through the Decade of Roma Inclusion, it is clear that efforts to improve European social inclusion have not had enough impact on Roma families. Their children, meanwhile, rarely feature in the debate at all. The current economic climate makes it more important than ever
to invest limited resources wisely, in ways that support families and contribute to human and social capital. Early childhood development is a prime example – a unique entry point that can determine the future course of a child’s life. ECD can help to break the cycle of exclusion and poverty, address human rights and ensure a strong foundation for the development of both individuals and society. A child’s early years are crucial in terms of physical and psycho-social development. Everything comes together in this short space of time – emotions are shaped, an understanding of the world is formed, the foundations of language are laid and the most significant proportion of brain development takes place. Young children develop to the best of their potential when they have strong, caring relationships with adults right from the start and when they grow up in conditions that are safe, healthy and offer them rich opportunities to learn. Intervening during the early years, with quality health care, parenting support, and pre-school education,
A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD “There is a lot of prejudice and discrimination against Roma in my country. We find it hard to do things that others take for granted… We don’t want to be given preferential treatment – we just want the same opportunities as everyone else.” Anonymous
would enhance the lives of poor Roma children today, and could help this generation to enter school on an equal footing with their nonRoma peers. Too many Roma children miss out on opportunities that would support their early development – and this can start them off on the wrong foot for their future growth and development. That is why UNICEF and its partners use Early Childhood Development as the entry point for the social inclusion of Roma children. Background The Roma, numbering around 10 million people, remain Europe’s largest and most vulnerable minority, experiencing the highest levels of poverty and social exclusion across the continent. Their children – around five million in total – continue to grow up in severe deprivation and face discrimination in their access to health, education and social protection services. As a result, many Roma children miss out on the crucial building blocks for development in their early years. The cycle of deprivation often begins before a Roma child is born. Children born into poverty are often malnourished and, when they have children themselves, they may pass on that malnourishment on to their babies. Young Roma mothers often give birth to babies who are underweight.
Once born, Roma children may well live in overcrowded and povertystricken households. Many Roma live in slums on the edge of towns, often isolated from community health, education and administrative services. Homes often lack heating, electricity, running water, proper sanitation and garbage removal and are overcrowded – a threat to the health and well-being of young children. Roma infants, especially those from very poor families, are at great risk of being placed in institutions. A disproportionate number end up in orphanages as a result of the severe pressures on families, including the poverty that compels parents to migrate to find work. Many Roma children do not have a birth certificate – a document that is vital to access many services, such as immunization, welfare benefits and pre-schooling. Not only is the birth registration system complex in some cases, a birth certificate can be unaffordable for families in poverty. When Roma do have access to, for example, health services, they often face blatant discrimination from health care providers, as well as language and communication problems. The same holds true for pre-schooling. Roma children are far less likely to attend pre-school than their counterparts; with coverage for Roma children aged 3-6 ranging from a low of 0.2 per cent in Kosovo to a high of only 17 per cent in Romania. The cumulative impact of discrimination and deprivation in the earliest years means that Roma children are not ‘ready’ for primary school. This, combined with outdated assessment procedures, means that many Roma children of primary school-entry age are segregated into special schools and institutions, excluded from mainstream education before they even begin. In short, a lifelong pattern of exclusion and isolation is often
KEY STATISTICS There are an estimated 10 million Roma – the equivalent of a nation the size of Sweden. • Children and young people account for up to 50 per cent of the Roma population. • More than half of all Roma in Bulgaria and Montenegro are thought to live in poverty. In Romania, the Roma account for only 2.5 per cent of the population, but 12.5 per cent of the extremely poor. • In Romania, 70 per cent of Roma women are married before the age of 18 (around 35 per cent before the age of 16). • Roma children are far less likely to attend pre-school than their counterparts; with coverage for Roma children aged 3-6 ranging from a low of 0.2 per cent in Kosovo to a high of only 17 per cent in Romania. • According to the Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey in Serbia in 2005: 1. rates of low birth weight and stunting were respectively twice and four times higher among Roma children than among other children 2. Only 27 per cent of Roma children were immunized, compared with 58 per cent of other children 3. The rate of Roma mothers not receiving antenatal care was 16 times higher than among other mothers. established by the time a Roma child is just six years old. Including Roma children from the start UNICEF believes that Roma children have the right to start life with the same chances that are enjoyed by other children, and promotes Early Childhood Development as an entry point for the social inclusion of Roma children. In 2008, UNICEF, the Open Society Institute (OSI) and the Roma Education Fund (REF) teamed up to improve knowledge on where, exactly, Roma children were fitting into national policies for Early Childhood Development in the Czech Republic, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Romania and Serbia. A series of four studies – within the Roma Early Childhood Inclusion (RECI) project revealed serious gaps and suggested that a new approach was needed. In 2010, the UNICEF CEE/CIS
Regional Office began to build on the findings to create the Roma Good Start Initiative (RGSI) in partnership with Governments, UNICEF Country Offices or National Committees, and local Roma NGOs in six countries: Czech Republic, Hungary, FYROM, Romania, Serbia and Spain. The initiative is unique in working across UNICEF programme and donor countries in Eastern and Western Europe. The aim is to help ensure that young Roma children have equal access to health, education and protection services. The specific objectives are to: Contribute to systemic changes at national level in the design and delivery of ECD and Basic Education services to make them more sustainable, equitable, accessible and responsive to the rights and needs of all children, particularly Roma children. Support evidence-based policies by increasing the availability and analysis of data and information on Roma children, including the
impact of national social policies at the national level and by generating, disseminating and exchanging knowledge and experiences at the regional level. Develop strategic partnerships to increase and sustain the attention and political commitment of local and national governments, development partners and regional forums on the well-being and inclusion of Roma children.
ROMA EARLY CHILDHOOD INCLUSION PROJECT The Roma Early Childhood Inclusion (RECI) Project is sponsored and managed by the Roma Education Fund, the Open Society Institute and UNICEF. Since 2008, it has been gathering data and information about the inclusion of young Roma children in early childhood services in the Czech Republic, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania and Serbia. In each country, a national Roma Early Childhood Inclusion Report has been prepared by national experts on early childhood and Roma inclusion. The reports, which will be used extensively in policy dialogue at the national and regional levels, highlight the priorities for children in early childhood policy and the challenges facing Roma families and children, with a strong emphasis on what works, innovative programmes, and human interest stories on young Roma children.
Key results
Young Roma children have access to good quality ECD services, participate in at least two years of pre-school education and make a successful transition to inclusive and child-friendly primary education. Roma children are able to access mainstream quality basic education services. Data on the situation of children across different areas of child-wellbeing and evidence on the impact of social policies in ECD, education, health, social protection and child protection is in the hands of key stakeholders. Knowledge and experiences on what works in reducing disparities and achieving the social inclusion of vulnerable groups of children, such as Roma, in ECD and education services is generated, packaged for different audiences, disseminated to key stakeholders and influencing policy processes. Local and national government, national and international partners and regional forums recognize and take steps to address the specific dimensions of Roma children’s exclusion.
If UNICEF is to make a real difference for Roma, it has to change the game, using its political capital to change systems and challenge discrimination. This means shifting the focus from projects to a focus on efforts to improve policies, set standards, ensure accountability and empower Roma communities. Partnerships with national counterparts, including the Roma community, are, of course, paramount. It also means looking beyond preschool enrolment at the age of three, to comprehensive early childhood development that starts from birth and that includes early childhood health, development and education initiatives that are flexible and accessible to all families, including the most marginalized. There are five main arguments for a special focus on Roma children and families in Europe. The ethical/human rights argument: The current situation of many Roma children undermines Europe’s authority and reputation on human rights issues and its legal commitment to uphold fundamental rights, recently reaffirmed in the Lisbon Treaty. The macro-economic argument: The European Union simply cannot afford to ignore the economic potential of 10 million people.
To share comments or find out more, please contact: Deepa Grover, Senior Regional Advisor on Early Childhood Development Telephone: +41 79 444 6652 Email: degrover@unicef.org UNICEF CEE/CIS is creating a specific web-page on Roma children that will go live in May 2011. For current materials, please visit the main CEE/CIS website: http://www.unicef.org/CEECIS
The return on investment argument: The impact of poverty is more intense in early childhood and has a far greater impact in later life than poverty experienced as an adult. Similarly, intervening at an early age has a far greater impact than doing so later on, when it is already too late. The human capital argument: Learning at one stage of life influences what and how we learn in the next stage. So ensuring a well-educated workforce means investing in high quality early childhood programmes. The preparation for school argument: Investments in early childhood education could help to break the intergenerational transmission of social exclusion. Good ECD services help to prepare young Roma children for school and ensure a level playing field when they arrive, reducing the likelihood that they will be sidelined in special schools.
TOTAL FUNDING REQUIRED We need an additional Euro 10 million from 2012 to 2014. This sum would let us build on the Roma Good Start Initiative that is already underway in six countries, and transform its results into direct action for children in ten countries in the CEE region with large Roma populations. Designed by byline / info@bylines.ch
WHY THIS MATTERS The Roma Good Start Initiative aims TO NATIONAL COMMITTEES to ensure that: