IV Workshop Internacional - Apresentação Mary Young

Alliances and Partnerships Mobilized by International Organizations for Early Child Development

International Early Child Development Workshop Fundação Maria Cecília Souto Vidigal Sao Paolo, Brazil November 9-10, 2010 Mary E. Young, MD, DrPH World Bank

Overview • New International Partnerships in ECD Two Examples: – ALAS/Earth Institute and the World Bank – AeioTu’s early childhood intervention in Colombia

• Why Alliance and Partnerships are essential • Priority actions for the next ten years

ECD initiatives in Latin America • ALAS (América Latina en Acción Solidaria)/Earth Institute/World Bank partnership • AeioTU project in Colombia

AeioTU project • The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) and Fundación Carulla • Randomized trial to assess impact of early intervention • Investigate children’s social, health, cognitive, emotional development at school entry and follow up in primary and secondary school

ECD services is a complex undertaking • Uniquely depends on alliances and partnerships • Lessons learned: – comprehensive packages – no single sector can do it alone – government involvement is essential and complementary – measuring children’s outcomes is imperative and yields much-needed data

First, ECD services must be wrapped into …

Comprehensive Packages To start with:

Program Options:

• Better nutrition, • Essential mother and child care, and • Early sustained sensory stimulation

• Delivery of services to young children • Education and support of parents • Training and support of caregivers/paraprofessionals • Sensitization of the public, through the mass media, to the value of ECD • Promoting and strengthening communitybased activities

Growth and Development Monitoring, Promotion, and Corrective Programs.

Second, no one level or single sector can do it alone, • Effective ECD programs are built from the “bottom up” – Vertically that involves: • • • •

Parents and families, neighborhoods and communities, localities and provinces (or states), and National bodies

– Horizontally working across sectors

Built Infrastructure from “Bottom Up” Aim to strengthen basic unit of society – the family 15 15 15 15 15 15 15

Neighborhood cluster Neighborhood cluster Neighborhood cluster

City- wide system

15 Parent associations Lobby local authorities to improve basic infrastructure-water, transport,

NGOs /local networks Depend on city support system to procure, distribute food, train caretaker and conduct public awareness campaigns

Third, government involvement is essential and complementary • National Support: Get the Politics Right Opportunity is key: seize it, create it, capitalize on it – Political will, timing, national commitment – Vigorous support from the top

• Build BROAD-BASED support

Local Support: Seven Keys to Success • • • • • • •

Ownership Trust Information Clear “contracts” (relationships) Incentives Organizational capacity National support ↔ local support

Early Human Development Programs National Organizations

Families

Provide Legal Framework Information

Ownership

Contracts

Incentives

Services Delivery

Priority actions for the next ten years…

Foster National and Global Understanding and Awareness – communicate the importance of healthy brain development in early childhood for the overall health, well-being, and competence of populations.

– promote a trans-disciplinary science of human development

Priority actions for the next ten years‌ Benchmark societal progress by monitoring child development outcomes

The Long Reach of ECD: EDI Vulnerability and Percent ‘Not Passing’ Grade 4 exam # of EDI Vulnerabilities (kindergarten)

% Not passing

Grade 4 exam

Numeracy 0 1 2-3 4-5

12.3 22.2 33.8 55.6

Reading 0 1 2-3 4-5

17.8 33.9 43.1 68.3

Serving “Mothers and Others” Alliances and partnerships, international organizations, civil societies and networks can work together to mobilize action on early human development.

Such strategies would serve “mothers and others” and the evolution of “mutual understanding” to benefit all.