WHO, Nov 27, 2020
The early childhood period is considered to be the most important developmental phase throughout the lifespan. What happens to the child in the first few years of life is critical for the child’s developmental trajectory and lifecourse influencing their mental and physical health, education and future economic participation.
In order to track global progress on early childhood development (ECD), WHO, UNICEF and partners today launched new expanded 2020 ECD Countdown to 2030 country profiles. The updated profiles cover 42 ECD indicators and 197 countries, including 60 high-income countries, encompassing 99.8% of the world’s children younger than 5 years.
The 2020 profiles reveal substantial threats to the world’s youngest inhabitants:
- Fewer than half of infants younger than 6 months are exclusively breastfed in most countries with data
- At least 25% of children younger than 5 years are stunted in about a third of the countries
- Fewer than half of young children in a third of the countries receive the benefits of early stimulation and responsive care by adults in their home
- More than three-quarters of children aged 1–4 years experience violent discipline by their caregivers in almost half of the countries.
The Countdown to 2030 country profiles on ECD are an important step in establishing a global monitoring and accountability system for early childhood development, and prompting further advocacy and action to advance ECD. However, data in a number of critical areas still remains a challenge.
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