Project report
Contributions of Early Childhood Development Programming to Sustainable Peace and Development
Chelsea Donaldson, Friedrich W. Affolter, Liliana A. Ponguta, Rima Salah, Pia Rebello Britto et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This concept paper from the Early Childhood Peace Consortium explores how early childhood development (ECD) programmes can contribute to conflict prevention and peacebuilding. It combines evidence from developmental psychology, health, nutrition, and peacebuilding practice to show how ECD services support both sustainable development and peace. The paper argues that investing in young children and their families plays a role in preventing conflict between individuals and groups, and aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 16 on peace and justice.
Key points
- ECD programming can prevent and mitigate conflict between individuals and among groups
- The paper combines evidence from developmental psychology, health, nutrition, and peacebuilding sectors
- ECD services support achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly SDG 16
- Socio-economic development interventions can simultaneously transform relationships and build social support networks to reduce violent conflict risks
Limitations
This is a concept paper that summarizes existing evidence rather than presenting new primary research or evaluation data. The document does not specify which countries or contexts are covered, and does not provide detailed evidence of specific ECD interventions or their measured outcomes.
Abstract
In order to advance the notion that young children and their families have a role to play in conflict prevention and peacebuilding, the Early Childhood Peace Consortium (ECPC) is pleased to introduce its first publication “Contributions of Early Childhood Development Programming to Promoting Peace and Sustainable Development”. This concept paper summarizes and combines evidence from developmental psychology, health and nutrition, with lessons learned from the peacebuilding and social services administration sectors. The paper will help practitioners appreciate how ECD services can prevent and mitigate conflict between individuals and among groups. This background paper thereby follows in the footsteps of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which acknowledges that “there can be no sustainable development without peace, and no peace without sustainable development.” It exemplifies the role of ECD in supporting the achievement of the SDGs, and in particular Goal 16. The concepts described in the paper align with recent directions in peacebuilding that aim to operationalize socio-economic development interventions so that they simultaneously transform relationships and build social support networks capable of mitigating violent conflict risks.