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Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief (2017)

Chapter: Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief

Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
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Proceedings of a Workshop


  IN BRIEF

February 2017

Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally

Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief

The Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally, in partnership with the Jacobs Foundation, the Institute for Human Development at Aga Khan University, and the Bernard van Leer Foundation, convened its ninth and final workshop in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on October 20–21, 2016, to explore topics related to innovations in investing in young children globally. During the course of the 2-day workshop, researchers, policy makers, program practitioners, industry partners, funders, and other experts came together to highlight innovative research, policy, business models, and implementation strategies occurring in West Africa and around the world that positively affect investments made in young children. Innovations ranged from prioritizing the needs of children in national agendas to unique partnerships that enable services to reach children in remote contexts. More broadly the workshop sought to accomplish the following three goals:

  1. Explore the costs and financing of quality early childhood development programs and policies with a focus on innovative financing tools, models, or ideas, including views from outside the traditional child health and development fields that may be complementary to strengthening investments in young children’s health, education, nutrition, and social protection.
  2. Highlight innovations from research, program development and evaluation, and technology and product development that seek to improve children’s health, education, nutrition, and social protection. Innovations included long-standing successes or ideas that had not yet been launched or scaled.
  3. Discuss the challenges and historical and sociopolitical barriers to investing in Francophone countries, and explore opportunities to build on existing promising investments and innovations.

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Kofi Marfo, professor and foundation director of the Institute for Human Development at Aga Khan University, stated that the workshop would examine contributions from the West African region, and by virtue of discussions occurring in a particular location, the workshop could push the field of early childhood development forward in other regions. In the context of Africa, and particularly West Africa, Aderemi Kuku, president of the African Academy of Sciences, pointed out inherent differences between the language of science versus the language of interventions, and he called for a united scientific language that can be translated across specific and unique contexts such as those that exist between Francophone and Anglophone West Africa. Simon Sommer, head of research at the Jacobs Foundation, echoed Kuku insofar as the link between public policies and private investments aimed at the poorest populations across West Africa can only work if mechanisms are in place at the level of family and community.


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Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
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THE WEST AFRICAN CONTEXT

Her Excellency Niale Kaba, minister of planning and development for Côte d’Ivoire, described the favorable and conducive environment that Côte d’Ivoire lends as the backdrop for the forum’s workshop on innovations in investing in young children, particularly given the presence of technical and financial partners in the field. She informed workshop participants that the country has made a strong commitment to investing in the development of its young children, emphasizing that these investments are the key to children reaching their full developmental potential, which leads to productive adults, cohesive societies, and thriving economies. As evidence of Côte d’Ivoire’s commitment to ensuring the well-being of its young children, Kaba presented several policy actions recently undertaken by the government. Actions included intersectoral coordination among ministries, establishment of a multisectoral plan for children under age 5, introduction of compulsory education for children ages 6–16, and creation of a national child protection strategy. Kaba concluded by stating that while it is no longer necessary to demonstrate the importance of the early years, the integration of investments in early childhood has not yet been fully achieved.

Investing in Young Children in West Africa Across Sectors

Marfo underlined the importance of intersectoral coordination laid out in Kaba’s opening remarks by stating that no single stakeholder or sector can fully address the issues of the young child, necessitating coordinated action among all relevant stakeholders. Lola Adedokun, program director for Child Well-Being and director for the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s African Health Initiative, posed a series of questions to the various sectors representing policy, research, and program implementation on investing in young children. She began by asking the group how to ensure that early childhood is a priority for decision makers. Cheikh Mbacké, senior fellow at the Centre for Research in Applied Economics and Finance of Thiès (CREFAT), University of Thiès, Senegal, responded by listing three major challenges facing those working in early childhood development in West Africa: (1) the majority of the population is rural and literacy rates are low; (2) entrenched social standards and traditional practices may be in conflict with empirically grounded approaches for caring for young children; and (3) the composition of the African family unit often extends beyond the mother and father to include others, a fact not often taken into account in early childhood interventions. Koku Awoonor-Williams, deputy director for Policy Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation, Ghana Health Service, pointed to a recent reform in Ghana, in which the Ministry of Women and Children was renamed to the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection in an effort to promote more intersectoral coordination. Jose Saavedra, chief medical officer at Nestlé Nutrition, stated the importance of establishing rules of engagement for multisectoral coordination and collaboration. Noting that no one sector can comprehensively address all the challenges in early childhood, Saavedra called for respect, transparency, and openness to communication across sectors as critical to achieving sustainability. Christina de Bruin, deputy representative of UNICEF in Côte d’Ivoire, challenged workshop participants to take a lifecycle approach rather than a sector-based approach to investing in young children, and for government partners to place early childhood at the top of the policy agenda. Côte d’Ivoire provides a good example, she said, pointing to early childhood as a top priority in the country’s national plan.

When asked how to best use science to inform the decision-making process, Awoonor-Williams suggested involving policy makers in the identification of research questions. According to him, this will ensure that researchers conduct research and develop the evidence base needed to answer pressing policy challenges. Saavedra added that, for example, although the research shows there is no better return on investment than those made in health and nutrition in the early years, policy is not always informed by research. He stated that in many contexts, research is present and resources are available; the larger issue is garnering a shared commitment among stakeholders and decision makers to generate, apply, and consume the knowledge to innovate and to prioritize investments in early childhood.

Finally, Adedokun asked the panelists for their perspectives on how best to finance comprehensive investments in children. De Bruin and Saavedra spoke about return on investments by arguing that links between childhood investments and outcomes need to be made clear before national governments can prioritize investments. After evidence was generated in support of the return-on-investment case, Awoonor-Williams advocated for setting national priorities and the mobilization of domestic resources. Marfo agreed, stating that multilateral and government partnerships are not enough, but that only through a national policy agenda can action ensue. Saavedra suggested that input from families and communities during a consultation phase prior to implementation will ensure that resources do not get wasted by national interventions that may not resonate with the reality at the community level. He urged that sustainability be part of the process from conception of ideas through implementation and scalability.

Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
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Adedokun ended the panel discussion by encouraging national, regional, and local governments to increase efforts around data collection, analysis, and understanding. She added that it is not enough to fund innovation toward early childhood outcomes; funding needs to be available to better understand data and to learn from failure. For her, this necessitates the flexibility to “learn while doing” to ensure that new efforts do not repeat past mistakes. In doing so, Adedokun said governments must assume their own voice and lead this process.

RESEARCH INNOVATIONS

From the Lancet Series on Early Childhood

Michael Feigelson, executive director of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, introduced the 2016 Lancet series on early childhood that contains research and commentary from 45 authors representing 22 institutions globally and hailing from the fields of neuroscience, psychology, pediatrics, educational psychology, biology, global health equity, and economics. This series of three papers represents the voice of the scientific community on early childhood science, practice, and effective interventions for global progress toward sustainable development.

Gary Darmstadt, associate dean for maternal and child health and professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, provided a high-level overview of the findings of the papers in the Lancet series, promoting an updated approach to characterizing the burden of risk to children for suboptimal development and calculating the cost to society of not acting on these risk factors. He noted that the series places particular emphasis on young children, but takes a life-course approach, understanding that the health of a child is intimately linked to both the health of her parents and her future children. Historically, the burden of risk has been calculated by assessing two factors—stunting and living in extreme poverty. Globally today 43 percent of children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are at risk for suboptimal development based on these risk factors alone. Yet Darmstadt noted that by accounting for two more risk factors—low maternal education and child maltreatment—in a subset of LMIC countries, the burden of risk increases from 63 percent (only accounting for stunting and poverty) to 75 percent. As risk factors accumulate, the more resistant a child becomes to the effects of an intervention. Citing the 43 percent of children at risk of stunting and poverty across LMICs, Darmstadt stated that the personal costs of inaction is a reduction in adult earning potential by 26 percent. Not acting on these risk factors also leads to significant negative economic effects for societies, where in some cases the percent of GDP lost is higher than what countries are already paying for health care. He suggested the alignment of effective intervention packages with policies, particularly multisectoral policies. He noted that in 2000, only 7 countries had multisectoral policies, whereas today 68 countries have them, 45 percent of which are LMICs.

Zulfiqar Bhutta, founding director of the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health at Aga Khan University and the Robert Harding Inaugural Chair in Global Child Health at The Hospital for Sick Children, explored how to package interventions for programs to maximize impact along the continuum of early childhood. Bhutta referenced the recent transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a parallel shift from promoting survival to ensuring children thrive and reach their full developmental potential. The conceptual framework used in the Lancet series demonstrates that the determinants of adverse health are broader than those within in the context of maternal and child health. Bhutta listed the aggregation of risk factors such as toxic stressors, environmental exposures, displacement, and poverty that may start early in a child’s life and may have intergenerational consequences. Citing the 160 million children annually affected by stunting and at risk of adverse development, he stated that the factors that affect stunting potentially begin during preconception and may extend beyond the first 3 years of life. Bhutta made the call for interventions that focus on the periods of greatest risk, suggesting that adolescence provides another window of opportunity for improving mental health and developmental interventions.

Bhutta focused on another important theme covered in the Lancet series—taking interventions to scale. He noted that the common denominator of ensuring the success of large-scale programs is a sound political commitment buttressed by a conducive policy environment. Bhutta encouraged the use of the health sector as an entry point into delivery platforms that reach families. He also listed interventions in education; social and child protection; and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) as additional platforms to reach families. By designing interventions that target preconception through adolescence, and by using the emerging political will fostered by the SDGs, Bhutta sees an exponential opportunity to scale up early childhood development services for young children that optimize their developmental potential.

Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
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Research Results from Regional Scholars

In his introduction of research from West African scholars, Kuku called for culturally grounded investigations that overcome the often artificial boundaries between Francophone and Anglophone societies. He noted that Francophone and Anglophone countries in West Africa sometimes create artificial boundaries, with language at the heart of the divide. He called for research from the region to be seen collectively as West Africa’s contribution to the advancement of early childhood development.

Anselme Siméon Sanou, medical epidemiologist at the Centre MURAZ in Burkina Faso, presented a computerized neuropsychological test of variables of attention (TOVA), which he used to measure attention difference among children with and without histories of delayed milestones in a community-based cohort of children in rural Burkina Faso. Findings of the test revealed that children with a history of developmental delays had higher response time, higher errors of omission, and higher errors of commission than those without. Benefits of TOVA include the speed at which the test can be administered, a standardization process for all children tested, innovative applications of technology in rural settings, and elimination of error and time associated with data collection and analysis. Yet, administering the TOVA presents challenges, such as the lack of qualified human resources and the need for specialized equipment that requires electricity. Looking ahead, Sanou suggested that the success of technology-based interventions in early childhood will be enhanced by advocating among stakeholders and training qualified and motivated young researchers.

Oumar Barry, senior lecturer at the University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar-Senegal, presented his work on the value of delivering behavioral measures for early childhood in addition to cash transfers to female heads of house in Niger. The behavior-change component sought to foster behavioral changes among parents and encourage investments in their young children’s human capital by urging parents to implement early childhood practices (across health, nutrition, psychosocial stimulation, and child protection). Participation in the behavioral component was a soft condition by which to receive the cash transfer. The study compared outcomes between villages receiving cash transfers and the behavioral change program component, and villages receiving only cash transfers. Barry noted that the behavioral change component led to improvements in immunization rates, use of mosquito nets, handwashing, child stimulation, food security, and decreases in negative discipline practices. Areas where little or no improvements were observed include positive disciplinary practices, family planning (likely owing to the late timing of its introduction into the program), rate of change in child nutrition levels, and anthropometric (physical measures of an individual’s size, form, and functional capacities) and cognitive development. While there were significant improvements in behavior change among beneficiaries, Barry stated that the behavior component of the study is not adequate to show overall change, given the short duration of the study, which lasted only 18 months. Additionally, while cash transfers were intended for the whole family, they were difficult to track because in polygamist families, as is the case with many families in Niger, cash is distributed to the eldest wife because she traditionally manages the finances for the whole family.

Henriette Hanicotte, research manager at Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) in Côte d’Ivoire, made the case for research—impact evaluation in particular—and program design to occur through a collaborative process involving nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), governments, implementation partners, funders, and researchers. She provided two examples from IPA’s work in West Africa to demonstrate this approach. In the first example, Hanicotte presented findings on the best way to improve the use of health care services for young children without leading to overuse. To do this, the study she presented considered the role fees and health care information play in influencing outcomes for young children in Mali. By looking at the cost of services versus access to information, the study showed that parents were effective at determining when children needed to go to the clinic. Subsidies nearly tripled health care usage and did not lead to overuse. Furthermore, cost was determined to be a barrier to health care rather than lack of information. In the second example, Hanicotte presented an ongoing study from Burkina Faso examining how agricultural livelihoods affect women and young children’s nutrition. Different survey instruments were used to explore what type of data is possible to collect in the setting and to determine trade-offs between quality of data and cost. Moving forward, the study will provide information critical to designing new metrics as well as better interventions that positively influence nutrition through agricultural livelihoods. Hanicotte concluded that without good data, the research generated by such studies will be biased. Thus, she placed an emphasis on proper methods of data collection. Additionally, Hanicotte said that critical partnerships among researchers, economists, governments, and NGOs ensure that the design, outcomes, and evaluation of studies have the ability to support decision makers to move the levers of change for child development in diverse contexts.

Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
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PRACTICE AND DELIVERY INNOVATIONS

Frank Baiden, head of epidemiology at the Ensign College of Public Health in Kpong, Ghana, illustrated the challenges in the practice and delivery of rectal artesunate (RA) for early prereferral treatment of severe malaria. He cited evidence from the Lancet series that established that RAs administered to a child with symptoms of high fever, convulsions, vomiting, and/or refusing to feed substantially reduces the risks associated with severe malaria (Gomes et al., 2009). He noted that while many countries, particularly throughout sub-Saharan Africa, have integrated guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) for the treatment of malaria, which recommend the use of RA, there is very little production of the drug to match the existing demand. More specifically, there is currently no product with WHO prequalification or marketing authorization by a stringent regulatory authority, which prevents international donors from funding the procurement of this potentially life-saving treatment. Discussing the example in Ghana, Baiden described the many towns and villages beyond the reach of the health system or mobile clinics, which are run with infrequency. Moreover, RA drugs are not found in pharmacies. Baiden stated that while the evidence has been developed, there is a gap between innovation and actual delivery of RA to treat severe malaria. Baiden called for translating the knowledge surrounding treatment of children with malaria and distributing it to the right populations in a timely manner.

Marjolein Meande-Baltussen, inclusive child development advisor from CBM, discussed inclusive child development practices embedded in health and education services in Ghana. She pointed to the high burden of development impairments across rural sub-Saharan Africa, where 26 percent of children have moderate to severe developmental disabilities (Couper, 2002). In Ghana, the numbers are below the regional percentage at 17 percent (UNICEF, 2007), yet 72 percent are related to risk factors in neonatal and postnatal periods (WHO, 2010). Meande-Baltussen highlighted evidence by way of introducing the development of an inclusive training curricula for nurses and midwives in Ghana, which was built off the guidelines and strategies of the Ministry of Health and intended to look beyond the medical model of disability by linking to activities and participation in the community. The Inclusive Child Development in Practice curricula includes training and creating capacity across all levels of stakeholders, health education to reduce preventable conditions, early detection and early intervention, and evidence-based practice by integrating findings from a 2-year study done in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine on community-based training for children with cerebral palsy. Given the overwhelming lack of knowledge on disability in Ghana, Meande-Baltussen stated that the curricula have improved the working definition and they have bolstered prevention measures, early detection, and health staff attitudes toward families and communities caring for children with disabilities. Meande-Baltussen noted that a bottom-up approach has been made more sustainable by integrating disability within the curricula and Ministry of Health policies. Furthermore, she urged research be used as a strong advocacy tool for policy makers and in raising awareness. She also cautioned that inclusive data collection is needed across all levels to integrate disability issues into the existing early childhood platform.

TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT INNOVATIONS

If innovation models are integrated into early childhood science, business, and program implementation, there are several different pathways by which innovation can influence early childhood outcomes and have a sustained effect, stated Dominique McMahon, program officer of targeted programs at Grand Challenges Canada. Kaja Jasinska, assistant professor at the University of Delaware and research scientist at Haskins Laboratories, presented her research in rural, largely impoverished cocoa-growing communities in Côte d’Ivoire where children have inconsistent access to education systems, which are plagued by poor quality. She stated the specific effects of such aspects of poverty as lack of educational resources, poor nutrition, and an understimulating environment during sensitive and critical periods for language, cogitative, and literacy development are largely unknown. Using both the behavioral assessment of children’s development and portable neuroimaging to measure patterns of neural activation during reading, Jasinska is using the technology to explore how neuroscience can yield new insights into children’s developmental outcomes. Portable neuroimaging is able to track the neurodevelopmental changes in the brain that underlie skilled literacy processes impacted by an environment that carries a high risk of illiteracy. As a basic scientist, Jasinska made the call for building partnerships to ensure that basic science research can be translated into practice, especially in resource-challenged locales. She argued that with the increasing sophistication and affordability of neuroimaging technology, there is no reason why LMICs should not be involved in advancing the field of educational neuroscience while creating opportunities to build scientific capacity among the next generation of researchers at the same time.

Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
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ECONOMIC INVESTMENTS IN CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND SYSTEMS

Ted Miller, principal research scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, outlined several steps to improve the use of economic evidence to inform investments in young children globally across programs, practices, and policies, drawing from a recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report on this topic (NASEM, 2016). As guiding principles, Miller argued that quality and context matter, where lasting improvements require process reforms that enable producers and consumers to work together from the start. He added that there should be similar measures to the heath sector’s disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for children and youth and that the WHO’s Quality of Life (WHOQoL) scoring is getting close as a proof of concept. The challenge, he stated, is that QoL scoring has to be in dollar terms for cost–benefit analyses to be run, and doing so makes some people uncomfortable. He concluded with several reporting requirements and best practices when using economic evidence to inform investments: carefully considering and disclosing assumptions, decisions, and practices; clearly defining perspectives, reporting all costs, and pricing and/or counting intangibles such as quality of life and fear; analyzing uncertainty; and considering who benefits and who pays. Miller placed importance on greater data collection in the developing world to better inform economic models for making decisions.

Jennifer Brooks, senior program officer at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, continued this thread by exploring the uptake and use of economic evidence in the decision-making process when several different stakeholders are involved. She revealed two major impediments to using economic evidence to inform policy. The first is that empirical evidence is just one of many factors affecting decision making. Most decisions are influenced by values and what can realistically be implemented. To this end, Brooks suggested that empirical evidence be paired with compelling stories. The second finding revealed that the degree to which evidence speaks to a decision maker’s context affects how the evidence will be absorbed. Brooks argued that it is not enough to point to returns on investments. In addition, there is often limited capacity in some contexts to access and interpret empirical and economic evidence because of variable community capacity and challenges transferring evidence from one country to another for comparable outcomes. Brooks proposed a model based on support, accountability, and performance incentives that rewards domains that are most likely to generate positive outcomes. This type of model fosters greater collaboration among decision makers, knowledge brokers, intermediaries, and implementers. Brooks listed efforts to translate economic evidence into policy and practice: giving more attention to the relevance of evidence for end users if scalability and sustainability are the end goal; government reporting on the use of evidence; training institutions; and that funders pay for the implementation of evidence-based practices.

In her remarks, Eva-Maria Hempe, manager at Bain & Company, continued the thread of multistakeholder collaboration. Because different stakeholders define their values in very different ways, Hempe suggested that the private sector’s involvement in investment decisions for children, youth, and families is key to multistakeholder collaboration, given that neither governments nor businesses can act alone to drive sustained large-scale change. She proposed that in order to effectively engage the private sector, societal values need to align with financial benefits to ensure health is a positive business case. Having a more comprehensive definition of health will help with this alignment. Aligned values will ensure returns on investments overlap with returns on health. To be sustainable, a venture has to be financially viable, with Hempe arguing that even a social enterprise has to cover its costs. Stimulating the uptake of business cases for health can start either with creating demand or ensuring supply—and ideally both.

CAPACITY BUILDING AND INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS

Alan Pence, United Nations (UN) Educational, Scientific and Cultural Orgainzation chair for Early Childhood Education, Care, and Development at the University of Victoria, provided a historical account of how capacity has evolved in the African context, beginning with the mounting interest in early childhood that emerged in the 1990s with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,1 where particularly in Africa, research agendas moved beyond survival to investigate how to ensure children thrive in specific contexts. Yet, at that time in West, Central, and East Africa there were only a few university-level programs in early childhood development. Amid an emerging community of scholars and political leaders, various education and training initiatives were undertaken in the mid- to late 1990s into the 2000s with key intersectoral participants in an early effort to move away from the silos that had been deemed a barrier to moving the early childhood agenda forward. Pence noted that the complexity of capacity development cannot be addressed in a singular activity, but requires a multipronged approach targeting diverse groups of stakeholders. Different vehicles (seminars,

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1 The 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international human rights treaty aimed at upholding the distinct rights of children as human beings. Protected under the treaty are the civil, political, economic, social, health, and cultural rights of children.

Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
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online learning, conferences) were developed to address and bring in key players (from frontline to political leaders), and those initiatives became an effective mechanism to promote new policies, networks, programs, education, and training and enhanced south-south collaboration.

Marfo delved into the African Early Child Development/Child Development (ECD/CD) Workshops Initiative, which was one particular initiative formed in this era described by Pence. The initiative aimed to advance child development knowledge that was to be inclusive of the African perspectives, priorities, and values. He went on to say that while Africa has contributed important theoretical frameworks that are considered part of the global knowledge base on human development today, most of the research has been conducted by outsiders. The African ECD/CD Workshops Initiative was intended to be a mechanism to bring African scholars together and to provide mentorship, while developing channels to have African research be presented at international venues.

Juliana Seleti of the sub-Saharan Africa Early Childhood Network (AfECN) noted that young children in Africa should grow up in a safe, healthy, stimulating, and happy environment where they are able to thrive and achieve their full potential. Yet different contexts provide different possibilities for happiness in children, and these contexts have different effects on children. AfECN is focused on developing policies that are appropriate and relevant for children, yet also take into account how diverse Africa is.

Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Courtney Sale Ross University Professor of Globalization and Education at New York University, continued the conversation of capacity building by illustrating how the mounting trajectory of activities, initiatives, and formalized networks described by Marfo, Pence, and Seleti can inform early childhood development within the context of the SDGs. He argued that the innovation in the SDGs lies in the global thematic indicators where the language itself opens up a broader agenda for early childhood. The thematic indicators of the SDGs are a product of national indicators that have global contextual application. Yoshikawa pointed to examples in mental health, skills development outside of formal education, and an emphasis on disparities and equity—all of which hold particular meaning in the African context. Yoshikawa went on to describe the work of Education, Quality, and Learning for All (EQUAL), which was developed to address these connections linking the research-to-policy continua by aligning robust global alliances with regional networks. Such networks that hold convening power and collaborative potential buttress research skills that have regional relevance, because they are grounded in culture, learning, human development, impact development, implementation science, and psychometric skills. In doing so, there is the potential to develop new measures that tap constructs and contextual assessments of integrated service delivery programs, which Yoshikawa argued can simultaneously keep an eye toward the effects of policy and practice.

To demonstrate the relevance of policy and to create an environment where there is access to information, in the context of Africa, Seleti noted that AfECN seeks to use advocacy as a tool where practices can be demonstrated and shared, and this information is accessible to others. She said that the goals of AfECN are to support policy implementation, strengthen partnerships, generate and disseminate knowledge, and improve practices. Seleti went on to state that many countries in Africa have early childhood policies, but the disconnection lies in how countries are implementing these policies. Paul Oburu of Maseno University stated that through innovative partnerships, the voices that have not been heard can become known in research, particularly referencing the contribution African scholars have made on early childhood development in the region, but not necessarily on a global stage. Marfo said that moving African research forward is not about promoting research that is idiosyncratic to Africa; rather, it is about expanding prevailing conceptions of human development to include the different contexts in which children develop and thrive in sub-Saharan Africa and other low-income regions of the world, thereby imparting a spirit of excitement and commitment for the children of the continent and around the world. ♦♦♦

REFERENCES

Couper, J. 2002. Prevalence of childhood disability in rural Kwa-Zulu-Natal. South African Medical Journal 92(7):549–552.

Gomes, M. F., M. A. Faiz, J. O. Gyapong, M. Warsame, T. Agbenyega, A. Babiker, F. Baiden, E. B. Yunus, F. Binka, C. Clerk, P. Folb, R. Hassan, M. A. Hossain, O. Kimbute, A. Kitua, S. Krishna, C. Makasi, N. Mensah, Z. Mrango, P. Olliaro, R. Peto, T. J. Peto, M. R. Rahman, I. Ribeiro, R. Samad, N. J. White, and the Study 13 Research Group. 2009. Pre-referral rectal artesunate to prevent death and disability in severe malaria: A placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 373(9663)557–566.

NASEM (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine). 2016. Advancing the power of economic evidence to inform investments in children, youth, and families. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

UNICEF. 2007. Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). New York: UNICEF.

WHO (World Health Organization). 2010. Community-based rehabilitation guidelines. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/44405/9/9789241548052_introductory_eng.pdf (accessed January 20, 2017).

Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
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Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally (iYCG)


Zulfiqar A. Bhutta (Co-Chair)

SickKids Centre for Global Child Health, Toronto; University of Toronto Center of Excellence for Women and Child Health; Aga Khan University

Ann Masten (Co-Chair)

Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota

J. Lawrence Aber

New York University

Amina Abubakar

Lancaster University

Lola Adedokun

African Health Initiative, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

Constanza Alarcón

Fundación Alpina

Raquel Bernal

Center for Research on Economic Development, Universidad de los Andes

Pamela Y. Collins

Office for Research on Disparities & Global Mental Health and Office of Rural Mental Health Research, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health

Tracy Costigan

Research-Evaluation-Learning Unit, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Gary Darmstadt

Stanford University School of Medicine

Angela Diaz

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Rana Hajjeh

National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Jody Heymann

Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles

Gillian Huebner

Maestral International

Venita Kaul

School of Education Studies and Center for Early Childhood Education and Development, Ambedkar University Delhi

Sarah Klaus

Early Childhood Program, London, Open Society Foundations

Vesna Kutlesic

Office of Global Health, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Albert Lee

The Jockey Club School of Public Health & Primary Care and Centre for Health and Education and Health Promotion, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Joan Lombardi

Bernard van Leer Foundation

Florencia Lopez Boo

Inter-American Development Bank

Stephen Lye

Fraser Mustard Institute for Human Development

Kofi Marfo

Institute of Human Development, Aga Khan University

Mark Miller

Division of International and Population Studies, Fogarty International Center/NIH

Helia Molina Milman

University de Santiago, Chile; Past Minister of Health, Chile

Ariel Pablos-Méndez

U.S. Agency for International Development

Janna Patterson

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Alan Pence

School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria

Ruth Perou

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Cheryl Polk

HighScope Educational Research Foundation

Eduardo de Campos Queiroz

Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation

Pia Rebello Britto

Early Childhood Development Unit, UNICEF

Jose Saavedra

Nestlé Nutrition

Lorraine Sherr

University College London

Andy Shih

Autism Speaks

Karlee Silver

Grand Challenges Canada

Simon Sommer

Jacobs Foundation

Taha E. Taha

Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University

Susan Walker

Tropical Medicine Research Institute, The University of the West Indies

Sara Watson

ReadyNation

Amalia Waxman

Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries

Hirokazu Yoshikawa

New York University

Project Staff


Kimber Bogard

Forum Director

Charlee Alexander

Associate Program Officer

Carrie Vergel de Dios

Senior Program Assistant

Consultant

Jocelyn Widmer

University of Florida

DISCLAIMER: This Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief was prepared by Jocelyn Widmer as a factual summary of what occurred at the meeting. The statements made are those of the rapporteur or individual meeting participants and do not necessarily represent the views of all meeting participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s planning committees are solely responsible for organizing the workshop, identifying topics, and choosing speakers. The responsibility for the published Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief rests with the rapporteur and the institution.

REVIEWERS: To ensure that it meets institutional standards for quality and objectivity, this Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief was reviewed by Eva-Maria Hempe, Bain & Company; Cheikh Mbacké, Centre for Research in Applied Economics and Finance of Thiès (CREFAT); and Anselme Siméon Sanou, Centre MURAZ Research Institute. Lauren Shern, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, served as the review coordinator.

SPONSORS: This workshop was partially supported by Autism Speaks; the Bernard van Leer Foundation; The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; the Fraser Mustard Institute for Human Development; Grand Challenges Canada; HighScope Educational Research Foundation; the Inter-American Development Bank; the Jacobs Foundation; the Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation; the National Institutes of Health—Fogarty International Center, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and National Institute of Mental Health; Nestlé Nutrition Institute; the Open Society Institute–Budapest Foundation; ReadyNation; the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the Society for Research in Child Development; UNICEF; U.S. Agency for International Development; and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For additional information regarding the meeting, visit nationalacademies.org/iYCG.

Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in investing in young children globally: Proceedings of a workshop—in brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.

Health and Medicine Division

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Copyright 2017 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
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Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
×
Page 2
Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
×
Page 3
Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
×
Page 4
Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
×
Page 5
Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
×
Page 6
Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
×
Page 7
Suggested Citation:"Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshopin Brief." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24679.
×
Page 8
Innovations in Investing in Young Children Globally: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief Get This Book
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The Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally, in partnership with the Jacobs Foundation, the Institute for Human Development at Aga Khan University, and the Bernard van Leer Foundation, convened its ninth and final workshop
in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on October 20–21, 2016, to explore topics related to innovations in investing in young children globally. During the course of the 2-day workshop, researchers, policy makers, program practitioners, industry partners, funders, and other experts came together to highlight innovative research, policy, business models, and implementation strategies occurring in West Africa and around the world that positively affect investments made in young children. Innovations ranged from prioritizing the needs of children in national agendas
to unique partnerships that enable services to reach children in remote contexts. This publication briefly summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

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