2009-current

This project is in its infancy. More will be added after we publish!

In contrast to many other fields of social and economic development, early childhood development (ECD) lacks a system of global indicators that includes all key early childhood areas: education, nutrition, health, sanitation, and child rights and protection.

Up to the present, several international databases have functioned as secondary sources of some key ECD indicators. A database devoted only to ECD indicators had not been created and made widely available. A comprehensive ECD database would bring together existing secondary source indicators and additional new indicators to provide an overview of the status and needs of the world’s young children and mothers, globally, regionally, and country by country.

The lack of a universally accessible print and on-line ECD database restricts policy-planning activities on the part of governments and international agencies. This limits nations’ abilities to prepare situation analyses, annual plans, and service projections and simulations. In addition, the absence of up-to-date ECD data inhibits the analysis of service impacts over time at national, regional and global levels. It also severely curtails our ability to conduct policy advocacy to sensitize governments and agencies about the importance of increasing investments in ECD.

To meet the urgent need for an international ECD database, The RISE Institute, the Consultative Group for Early Childhood Care and Development (CG/ECCD), UMIACS, and CDIG, began an exploratory effort in 2008 to develop a Global Progress Report on Early Childhood. This project is intended to become a “flagship publication” of the partners. It will be placed on the CG website for all to use and links will be provided to many other websites to help ensure universal access. It is planned that this webpage will be continuously updated and fully interactive.

First public release of information will be on November 10th at the 4th African International Conference on Early Childhood Development (link) held in Dakar, Senegal.

Further information will be posted after this date.