2017: a year of advances and challenges for early childhood development

The case for investing in early childhood development has been steadily growing in 2017.

By the time a child reaches five years old, 90% of their brain has already developed – which means the journey from birth to school is one of the most important of their lives.

Every young child should have access to the care they need, including nutrition, health, learning, play and protection, so they stand the best chance of fulfilling their potential.

But world leaders still aren国产视频檛 giving it the attention it deserves. That国产视频檚 why 国产视频国产视频檚 #5for5 early childhood development campaign – launched last year – has been calling for early years care to be a priority.

We believe every country should spend 10% of its education budget on pre-primary and 10% of humanitarian aid to education should also go to pre-primary.

Here we take a look back at just some of the news and views around early childhood development that we聽reported on during 2017.

January

World’s first professor of play

Playing became big news when a job was advertised for the聽world国产视频檚 first professor of play聽at Cambridge University’s Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL), which is funded by the LEGON Foundation.

国产视频淭he value of play is relatively under-researched,国产视频� said Professor Anna Vignoles, interim director of PEDAL and a member of the university国产视频檚 faculty of education.聽The job eventually went to聽Professor Paul Ramchandani, who will start in January.

Shakira says babies will drive business

Singer-songwriter Shakira聽called for investment in early childhood development and said 国产视频渋t is key to the future prosperity of children and society国产视频� in a speech at the World Economic Forum.

“Today国产视频檚 babies will drive tomorrow国产视频檚 business,国产视频� she said at the opening ceremony in Davos. 国产视频淐hildren国产视频檚 capacity to contribute will shape tomorrow’s societies, will solve tomorrow’s problems.”

February

High Fives for #5for5 campaign

国产视频 asked supporters and celebrities to give a high five to raise awareness of the importance of the first five years of a child国产视频檚 life – when 90% of a child国产视频檚 brain is developed.听聽

It was part of our #5for5 campaign on early childhood development – to ensure every child gets the proper nutrition, protection, stimulation, health and education during these tender years.听A host of famous people joined in, including Stephen Fry, Sharon Osbourne, Kim Cattrall, Penny Lancaster, Audley Harrison and Jo Frost.

Womb with a view

More news emerged on when an unborn baby国产视频檚 growth begins. Just 16 days after conception, way before you know you are pregnant, your unborn baby国产视频檚 neural plate (the foundation of your baby’s brain and spinal cord) is forming.

“At the same time, neural cells start travelling throughout the embryo to form the beginnings of nerves,” says聽Heidi Murkoff, the author of What to Expect.

国产视频 also published a briefing paper on how to protect young children’s brain development during humanitarian emergencies.

March

15 years of saving lives

An event to mark 15 years聽of 国产视频国产视频檚 support of the groundbreaking work being done at the Jennifer Brown Research Lab was held in Edinburgh.听The lab is discovering more about why babies are born before 37 weeks of pregnancy and finding better ways to care for them.

It was set up by 国产视频 President Sarah Brown and husband Gordon – the former British Prime Minister – in memory of their first child Jennifer. She聽was born at 33 weeks and died after just 10 days in 2002.

Malnutrition crisis in Somalia

An estimated 200 million children under five in the developing world have significantly impaired growth, according to UNICEF and the World Health Organization – many of them聽in Somalia.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the challenges facing Somalia –聽a combination of hunger, drought, conflict and disease –聽require a聽massive response. Almost聽950,000 children under five were facing acute malnourishment聽in 2017.

Marshalling support for Africa’s children

An ambitious plan has been drawn up to help millions of young people in聽Africa have a successful future. But the Marshall Plan for Africa – devised by Germany – makes no mention of investing to support the development of聽children under five.

So 国产视频’s聽Global Youth Ambassadors聽– our network of young people advocating for education change –聽wrote to Germany’s development minister Gerd Muller, asking for that to be rectified.

April

Two years after the Nepal earthquake

We reported that malnutrition among the country国产视频檚 poorest children is still the biggest challenge 国产视频� 24 months after the devastation which killed almost 9000 people. Charities like the Nepal Youth Foundation聽believe feeding children as part of their early childhood development programmes is essential.

A future for Palestinian under-fives

Only one-third of all Palestinian four and five-year-olds in the West Bank and Gaza are enrolled in preschool. As many as聽38% of children聽in Gaza have stunted growth and over 50% of preschool-aged children聽are anaemic.

One organisation – American Near East Refugee Aid聽(ANERA) – is helping to rebuild a future for young children in Palestine and Lebanon by聽investing in upgrading preschools, training teachers, producing resources聽and leading the way in developing a national early childhood development strategy.

May

Helping disabled children in Kenya

In聽Kenya’s slums, if a couple has a disabled child, fathers often leave or the family will hide the child. There are no funds to help families who have a disabled child 国产视频� and 80% of聽primary and secondary schools have no special toilets for children who are disabled.

Total Rehab Centre is a non-profit community-based organisation registered by the ministry of gender, children and social development. We told how director聽Teresia Njeru has dedicated聽her life to helping disabled children who are brought by parents.

June

Inside the mind of a child

Do we really know what goes on in a young child国产视频檚 mind? How do they express themselves? We got a bit of an insight – thanks to some preschoolers in Malawi, Mexico, Nepal and Palestine.

As part of 国产视频’s #5for5 campaign, we asked charity and school workers to speak to children and ask them to draw something about their day or their family.听

…And celebs get in touch with their inner child

Seven well-known comedians made a series of fun videos with serious messages to support聽国产视频’s #5for5 campaign which racked up more than 1.1 million views on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Our videos featured British TV and film star Matt Lucas; Rainn Wilson – from the US version of TV show The Office; Kenyan comedian Carolyne “Teacher” Wanjiku; and stand-up comedians聽Jackie Tohn, Wendy Liebman,聽Shappi Khorsandi and Nish Kumar. All of them dressed up as babies to spread the message about investing in young children’s development.

July

Childhood care and conservation side by side

Away from Delhi’s tourist trails, an early childhood care programme is working as part of an overall development and conservation plan for a historic district.听

We told how Nizamuddin Urban Renewal Initiative, part of Aga Khan Development Network’s聽historic cities programme oversees seven nurseries that use a unique early childhood care model.听 聽聽

Cash boost for Tanzania ECD

A $12 million cash injection from the UK to help young children in Tanzania was welcomed by an early childhood development expert who said it will also boost primary school enrolment.听

ECD expert Janeth Malela, who is working with the charity BRAC Tanzania as project manager of its Play Labs,聽confirmed she will be involved in the initiative. She added: 国产视频淭his is such a good opportunity for Tanzania as there are gaps in early childhood development, hygiene and sanitation here.”

August

Babies and a second language

New research showed that babies and toddlers from a single-language household can learn a foreign language – in just ONE hour a day.

The method 国产视频� which many parents use naturally 国产视频� has been named as “parentese” or 国产视频渋nfant-directed speech国产视频�. It国产视频檚 the style parents use to talk to their babies, which has simpler grammar, higher and exaggerated pitch, and drawn-out vowels.

Toxic stress of Syrian children

A child protection report by UNICEF and other agencies said the “relentless violence and dire humanitarian situation in Syria are having a devastating impact on the protection of children of all ages.”

It added: “Toxic stress may result in significant lifelong consequences for children国产视频檚 cognitive, social and emotional development.” It followed warnings from 国产视频 last year that lack of聽planning for and financing early childhood development services in emergencies needed urgent attention.

September

We call for pre-primary education to get 10% of spending

A scorecard published by 国产视频 revealed the development of millions of children will suffer unless governments step up and increase their commitment to pre-primary education for every child.

It showed聽pre-primary is one of the most neglected areas of education aid – receiving less than 1% of the $11.7 billion globally. Not one donor is meeting the minimum benchmark and many lag way behind.

国产视频 called for聽all donors to spend at least 10% of education aid on pre-primary and for countries to spend 10% of their education budgets on pre-primary.

… and so does UNICEF

That was soon followed by a major UNICEF report that聽urged governments and partners to invest urgently in services聽that give young children the best start in life.

That included devoting 10% of national education budgets to pre-primary, saying this 国产视频渨ill greatly expand the number of children with access to early learning opportunities国产视频�. UNICEF also said聽all countries should deliver two years of free pre-primary education for every child.

October

Dads have vital role in development

Young children whose fathers are involved in their upbringing often have a better outcome in life. Studies show that babies whose dads are “hands on” and “fun” actually learn faster.

We looked at the issue of fathers’ involvement in raising children. In many countries and cultures, bringing up children is still looked on as being a mother国产视频檚 job.

November

South Africa’s poor children being left behind

Children under six who live in rural areas of South Africa are being denied vital education and other services. Almost half of young children do not have access to basic services 国产视频� and that could affect them for the rest of their lives.

The gap between the poorest children and the rest of the country is also widening,聽according聽to the聽South African Early Childhood Review 2017.听

Call for UK to increase ECD funding abroad

A report from the British Parliament called for the Department for International Development to increase its financing for education – and prioritise early childhood development.

Early years education for children in low-income countries has become a “high priority”, it said. The news came as it was revealed 85% of children in the developing world don国产视频檛 have access to pre-primary education.听

Groundbreaking research on premature babies

Scientists at the Jennifer Brown Research Laboratory in Edinburgh have made a discovery that could improve the future for many young children. Pioneering research into premature babies could help to identify children who may need extra learning support before they go to school.

The 国产视频済roundbreaking国产视频� research by scientists in Edinburgh strengthens calls for more investment in the development of children from birth to age five.The 国产视频-funded team at the Jennifer Brown Research Laboratory has discovered that the brain architecture known to support lifelong learning is present before a baby is born.

December

Yemen’s youngest in real danger

Millions of people are suffering in the appalling humanitarian crisis that has gripped Yemen – and the聽hardest-hit are the very young. A child is dying every 10 minutes from “preventable causes”, including malnutrition, cholera, diphtheria and the war itself.

The most vulnerable, those children under the age of five, are being abandoned to 国产视频渟tare death in the face,国产视频� according to the UN, which said 80% of children are now “in desperate need of aid”.

Food crisis in DRC too

There’s a similarly depressing scenario in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where聽400,000 children under five are at risk of dying within months through malnutrition.

More than 750,000 children are badly malnourished. Those who do survive the conflict, displacement and hunger crisis are at serious risk of stunted growth through an ongoing lack of proper nourishment