Peer-reviewed article
The principles of Nurturing Care promote human capital and mitigate adversities from preconception through adolescence
Maureen M. Black, Jere Richard Behrman, Bernadette M. E. G. Daelmans, Elizabeth Leah Prado, Linda Marleine Richter et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This paper proposes extending the Nurturing Care Framework (NCF) across the entire childhood and adolescent period, from preconception through age 20 years. Nurturing care includes stable environments that support children's health, nutrition, protection and learning through responsive relationships. The framework is organised into six developmental periods and aims to build human capital while strengthening resilience and mitigating the effects of adversities. The authors argue that this life-course approach is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and ensuring no child is left behind.
Key points
- Nurturing care comprises stable environments that promote health and nutrition, protect from threats, and provide learning and responsive relationships
- The framework extends across six developmental periods: preconception/prenatal, newborn/birth, infancy/toddlerhood, preschool, middle childhood and adolescence
- Nurturing care is fostered by families, communities, services and national policies, requiring multisectoral and multilevel approaches
- The framework is designed to enhance resilience, promote adaptive developmental trajectories and mitigate negative consequences of adversities
- Implementation requires embedding the framework in enabling laws, policies and services to ensure equitable support for marginalised groups
Limitations
This paper presents a conceptual framework and evidence-based argument but does not report empirical evaluation or outcome data from specific interventions. It does not describe implementation results or effectiveness in particular settings or populations.
Abstract
A comprehensive evidence-based framework is needed to guide policies and programmes that enable children and adolescents to accrue the human capital required to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper proposes a comprehensive, multisectoral, multilevel life-course conceptualisation of human capital development by building on the Nurturing Care Framework (NCF), originally developed for the foundational period of growth and development through the age 3 years. Nurturing care (NC) comprises stable environments that promote children's health and nutrition, protect from threats, and provide opportunities for learning and responsive, emotionally supportive and developmentally enriching relationships. NC is fostered by families, communities, services, national policies and beyond. The principles apply across the life course, endorse equity and human rights, and promote long-term human capital. This paper presents an evidence-based argument for the extension of the NCF from preconception through adolescence (0-20 years), organised into six developmental periods: preconception/prenatal, newborn/birth, infancy/toddlerhood, preschool, middle childhood and adolescence. The proposed framework advances human capital within each developmental period by promoting resilience and adaptive developmental trajectories while mitigating negative consequences of adversities.Attaining the SDGs depends on strengthening human capital formation, extending throughout childhood and adolescence and supported by NC. Embedded in enabling laws, policies and services, the dynamic NCF components can mitigate adversities, enhance resilience and promote the well-being of marginalised groups. The life-course extension of the NCF is strategically positioned to enhance human capital, to attain the SDGs and to ensure that children or adolescents are not left behind in reaching their developmental potential.