A framework for nurturing care
The Nurturing Care Framework provides a roadmap for action. It builds on state-of-the-art evidence about how early childhood development unfolds and how it can be improved by policies and interventions. It outlines:
- why efforts to improve health, well-being and human capital must begin in the earliest years, from pregnancy to age 3;
- the major threats to early childhood development;
- how nurturing care protects young children from the worst effects of adversity and promotes development – physical, emotional, social and cognitive; and
- what caregivers need in order to provide nurturing care for young children.
The Framework describes how a whole-ofgovernment and a whole-of-society approach can promote nurturing care for young children. It outlines guiding principles, strategic actions, and ways of monitoring progress.
Early experiences have a profound impact on children’s development. They affect learning, health, behaviour and – ultimately – adult social relationships, well-being and earnings.9,10 The period from pregnancy to age 3 is when children are most susceptible to environmental influences. Investing in this period is one of the most efficient and effective ways to help eliminate extreme poverty and inequality, boost shared prosperity, and create the human capital needed for economies to diversify and grow.11 The world is increasingly digital, which means there is an ever-greater premium on the abilities to reason, continually learn, effectively communicate and collaborate with others – all of which originate in early childhood.12 We know that millions of young children are not reaching their full potential because of poor health, inadequate nutrition, exposure to stress, a lack of love and early stimulation, and limited opportunities for early learning. The good news is that the situation is changing, thanks to current scientific and implementation knowledge, and increasing global and country commitments.
Why this Framework now?
The Sustainable Development Goals have embraced young children’s development, seeing it as key to the transformation that the world seeks to achieve by 2030.3 Embedded in the SDGs on hunger, health, education and justice are targets on malnutrition, child mortality, early learning and violence – targets that, together with others, outline an agenda for improving early childhood development. The UN Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health 2016–2030 synthesized the new vision under the objectives of Survive, Thrive and Transform.2 Never before has the opportunity for energizing investment in early childhood development been as good as it is now. Global institutions – including UNICEF, the World Bank Group, UNESCO and the World Health Organization – have prioritized early childhood development in their programmes of work.13 It is more urgent than ever that we work together in a unified way towards common goals. This Framework will help to guide the actions we must take to achieve results.
What contribution can this Framework make?
This Framework provides strategic directions for supporting the holistic development of children from pregnancy up to age 3. It aims to inspire multiple sectors – including health, nutrition, education, labour, finance, water and sanitation, and social and child protection – to work in new ways to address the needs of the youngest children. It articulates the importance of responsive caregiving and early learning as integral components of good-quality care for young children. And it illustrates how existing programmes can be enhanced to be more comprehensive in addressing young children’s needs. The Framework promotes the use of local assets, it presumes adaptation to the local context, and it promotes ownership at community level. It describes the foundations, actions and government leadership that must be in place for all children to reach their potential.
The audience
The Framework addresses a broad range of stakeholders. First are policy-makers and programme managers in ministries of health, nutrition, education, child protection, social protection, and other sectors, at national and local level. It also addresses civil-society groups, development partners, professional associations, academic institutions and funding initiatives, both global and national. In addition, it is intended as a source of inspiration – for parliamentarians, service providers, educational institutions, the private sector and the media – for ways in which they can help ensure all children develop to their full potential. Last, but not least, the Framework speaks – through these stakeholder channels – to caregivers who provide nurturing care for their young children every day.
The Framework calls out to all levels of government and all sectors – especially the health sector, whose services have extensive reach among pregnant women, families and young children. It asks them to:
- address gaps in support for the youngest children, complementing the education sector’s work to improve pre-primary education;
- work together with social protection and child protection, to ensure the material and social security of families and communities, and to protect young children from neglect, violence and abuse; and
- help to realize the rights of all children, especially the most vulnerable, and ensure that no child, anywhere, is left behind.
