EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT IN CRISIS
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
Over 90 million children under the age of seven have lived their entire lives in war and conflict. They’ve endured unthinkable violence and loss during a critically important time in their development. Yet there are many open questions about how to best support young children in these contexts. This theme focuses on filling research, policy, and practice gaps in collaboration with humanitarian and early childhood partners around the world.
Our projects address cutting-edge questions on technical priorities, implementation science, and local perspectives. How can we use remote approaches to best support young children in crisis contexts? How do children experience living in crisis and how can we use their perspectives to better design our responses? How can we better include ECD services in core humanitarian responses? We have worked with numerous partners, such as Sesame Workshop, UNICEF, Save the Children Denmark, the LEGO Foundation, and other partners to better understand and address these critical questions.
SELECTION OF PAST AND PRESENT PROJECTS AND HIGHLIGHTS
FIELDWORK IN COX’S BAZAR IN BANGLADESH
Building on previous work in Bangladesh with Sesame Workshop, we conducted fieldwork in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee camp, home to approximately 1 million Rohingya refugees. The team met with key policy makers, led a workshop for local officials, and developed policy recommendations to strengthen early childhood development (ECD) coordination and programming in the camp. These recommendations were endorsed by United Nations leadership and the Government of Bangladesh, who are now funding and implementing ECD coordination efforts.
END OF PROGRAM EVALUATION OF THE BAYTNA HUB INITIATIVE
We conducted an evaluation of Amna’s Baytna program, a trauma- and identity-informed early childhood development (ECD) initiative, highlights its focus on helping refugee children and caregivers process trauma through play, art, dance, storytelling, and mindfulness. The program celebrates cultural identities, fosters a sense of safety and belonging, and builds a network of nurturing relationships for families. Since its launch, Baytna has been recognized as a best practice by Moving Mind Alliance, Nurturing Care Framework, UNESCO Global Monitoring Report for Education, and Early Childhood Matters, and the lessons learned will guide potential scaling or program adjustments.
COORDINATION FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT IN EMERGENCIES
In collaboration with Sesame Workshop, we developed practical insights for strengthening the inclusion of early childhood development (ECD) in humanitarian needs assessments and response plans. We launched a learning cohort, involving ECD coordinators from Bangladesh, Colombia, Jordan, and Lebanon, to share lessons from their work. In the second phase, we shifted the focus to understanding the various roles ECDiE coordinators play at the country or crisis level, generating actionable insights for humanitarian stakeholders. The cohort now includes new members from Bangladesh, Colombia, Jordan, Uganda, Ukraine, and Syria, and recent work has produced recommendations for an ECDiE Coordinator Toolbox.
Report: Development of an ECDiE Coordinator Toolbox
CHILDCARE IN HUMANITARIAN CRISES
Globally, over 40% of children below primary-school age lack access to essential childcare, including millions affected by humanitarian crises. In these settings, primary caregivers face resource constraints and limited time, making it difficult to provide the necessary socioemotional and cognitive support for their children. In collaboration with UNICEF, we assessed childcare needs in emergencies and identified key elements for effective childcare, highlighting three promising delivery models for improving care in such contexts.
REMOVE DELIVERY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT (ECD) PROGRAMS IN SETTINGS AFFECTED BY CRISIS AND CONFLICT
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the global ECD community to test ways to remotely reach children on a new scale, creating an environment in which new evidence is constantly generated. We conducted a rapid evidence review on remote modalities for early childhood to highlight emerging trends, synthesize existing lessons, and pose questions for further learning. Findings were published in a brief in English, Spanish, Arabic, and Bangla and disseminated through a webinar hosted by ECDAN.
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT IN HUMANITARIAN STANDARDS AND GUIDANCE
One major obstacle to providing quality early childhood services in humanitarian contexts is the limited operational guidance that is integrated to the humanitarian response system. To fill this gap, we reviewed existing humanitarian standards to assess the extent to which early childhood interventions and the needs of infants, young children, and caregivers are included. We then contributed to revisions of the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies Minimum Standards for Education.
ASSESSMENT OF PROGRAMS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT IN CRISIS CONTEXTS
The Humanitarian Collaborative team worked with the INEE ECD Task Team to conduct study to better understand the global landscape of current Early Childhood Development programming in humanitarian settings, as well as the needs of practitioners in the field to improve program implementation and quality. This information will inform future priorities to strengthen and expand early childhood programming in humanitarian settings.
UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL REFUGEE FORUM
The Humanitarian Collaborative team contributed to the United Nations Global Framework for Refugee Education, the guiding document that UN member states will use to set policy, allocate funding, and track progress over the next four years. The team was invited to the first ever Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland and presented the IRC PhotoVoice Project at the Forums’ Marketplace of Good Practices.
HIGHLIGHTS
Child-Centered Photovoice Project, September 2024
“Photovoice” Project in Turkey, March 2024
Review of Early Childhood Development Working Group in Bangladesh, November 2023
The New Humanitarian: Childcare is a critical need for women refugees. It must be made a priority, May 2022
Professors of Practice Focus on Raising Children in Refugee Camps, February 2020