Africa Knowledge Hub for Children

BlogOpenAlex - Early Childhood18 Mar 2023

Unlocking the Potential of Early Childhood Development with ECD Courses

Are you aware that early childhood development (ECD) plays a significant role in shaping a child's future?Did you know that investing in ECD can yield high returns for both the individual and society as a whole?If not, then buckle up.In this blog post, we will explore how unlocking the potential of ECD with ECD courses can change your life, your child's trajectory and contribute to building healthy communities.Join us on this journey of discovery to understand why investing in the foundation years is critical and how taking an ECD course can empower parents, caregivers, teachers and policymakers to support children's learning potential.Let's dive in!What is Early Childhood Development?Early childhood development (ECD) is the period from birth to age 8. It's a time when children are growing and learning, making connections with others and developing their personalities.ECD encompasses a lot of different areas, including growth and development, cognition and literacy, socialemotional skills, health and well-being, and creativity.It's important for kids to have all these skills in order to grow into successful adults.

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Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex - Early Childhood9 Jul 2021

Early childhood development in Bangladesh and its socio-demographic determinants of importance

Early childhood development (ECD) is a crucial determinant of adulthood capabilities. This paper investigates the current ECD status among young children of 3–4 years of age in Bangladesh and its relation to various socio-demographic and familial factors using data from the latest round of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). Results from the logistic regressions confirm many existing findings for developing countries and draw new insights specific to the country. Physical and mental disabilities hinder all types of early development. Enrolment in pre-school education programmes, the presence of children's books at home and parents' engagement in certain learning-stimulating activities are crucial for development in literacy-numeracy and learning. Development in the physical domain is fundamentally associated with wealth status. Failure to attain adequate social-emotional development can be largely attributed to domestic hostility toward children and mothers' experience of functional difficulties.

M. Iftakhar Alam, Mohaimen Mansur, Prianka Barman

DevelopmentBDRead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex - Early Childhood29 Jun 2019

Early Childhood Development and Education: Theoretical Convergences and Divergences

This article introduces a theoretical study about convergent and divergent aspects between the concepts of education and early childhood development. This, set up from a social and educational approach, based on a in-depth theoretical review. The beliefs of children’s parents and caregivers are highlighted as a significant aspect on children’s development; all, considering the practices used for educating them, promoting a holistic child development, or the contrary. These insights make it possible to understand the rationality and applicability of child development and education theories. Hence, we advocate in this manuscript for an interdisciplinary and holistic perspective to approach child development taking into consideration factors and conditions, as well as fusing conceptual frameworks from various disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and philosophy.

Sandra Patricia Varela Londoño, Aurora Bernal Martínez de Soria, Sonia Rivas Borrell

DevelopmentESRead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex8 Apr 2019

Children overdue for immunisation: a question of coverage or reporting? An audit of the Australian Immunisation Register

OBJECTIVE: Vaccinations in Australia are reportable to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). Following major immunisation policy initiatives, the New South Wales (NSW) Public Health Network undertook an audit to estimate true immunisation coverage of NSW children at one year of age, and explore reasons associated with under-reporting. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey examining AIR immunisation records of a stratified random sample of 491 NSW children aged 12≤15 months at 30 September 2017 who were >30 days overdue for immunisation. Survey data were analysed using population weights. RESULTS: Estimated true coverage of fully vaccinated one-year-old children in NSW is 96.2% (CI:95.9-96.4), 2.1% higher than AIR reported coverage of 94.1%. Of the children reported as overdue on AIR, 34.9% (CI:30.9-38.9) were actually fully vaccinated. No significant association was found between under-reporting and socioeconomic status, rurality or reported local coverage level. Data errors in AIR uploading (at provider level) and duplicate records contributed to incorrect AIR coverage recording. CONCLUSIONS: Despite incentives to record childhood vaccinations on AIR, under-reporting continues to be an important contributor to underestimation of true coverage in NSW. Implications for public health: More reliable transmission of encounters to AIR at provider level and removal of duplicates would improve accuracy of reported coverage.

Charlee Law, Rhydwyn McGuire, Mark J Ferson et al.

SurvivalAURead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex - Early Childhood23 Sept 2020

All Children Thrive: Integration of Nutrition and Early Childhood Development

Building on the successes of child survival, we review the evidence needed to ensure both that children who survive also thrive and that recommendations promote equity, with no child left behind. To illustrate the critical roles played by nutrition and child development, we revise the Conceptual Framework for the Causes of Malnutrition and Death and the Nurturing Care Framework to create the Conceptual Framework of All Children Surviving and Thriving. The revised framework highlights the goals of child growth and development, supported by health, nutrition, learning, responsive caregiving, and security and safety. We review the challenges posed by undernutrition, stunting, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight, and children not reaching their developmental potential. Although integrated nutrition-childhood development interventions have shown promising effects, most have not been implemented at scale. Implementation science that investigates how and why integrated interventions work in real life, along with the acceptability, feasibility, cost, coverage, and sustainability of the interventions, is needed to ensure equity for all children thriving.

Maureen M. Black, Angela C. B. Trude, Chessa K. Lutter

SurvivalDevelopmentUSRead at source

Policy documentOpenAlex - Early Childhood1 Apr 2021

Key Features of Early Childhood Development Programs

Tajikistan has the highest birth rate, of 29 births per 1,000, in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region and children under 6 years old comprise 17 percent of the population. Early Childhood Development (ECD) investments are some of the most cost-effective interventions and given the demographic context, Tajikistan can benefit more than other countries by building its human capital and empowering its workforce of the future. Globally, investing in children to build human capital is one of the best investments a country can make to eliminate extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity, and build the workforce of tomorrow. Tajikistan’s Human Capital Index (HCI) Score of 0.50 is lower than average for the region, reflecting that much more can be done to support children in achieving their potential. This report is intended to support policy makers in understanding the key features of an ECD program based on a rapid review of international ECD programs.

Naomi Rupasinghe, Lorna Benton, Kate Mandeville et al.

DevelopmentTJRead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex10 Jan 2024

Immunisation coverage and factors associated with incomplete immunisation in children under two during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sierra Leone

BACKGROUND: Routine childhood immunisation is one of the most important life-saving public health interventions. However, many children still have inadequate access to these vaccines and millions remain (partially) unvaccinated globally. As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health systems worldwide, its effects on immunisation have become apparent. This study aimed to estimate routine immunisation coverage among children under two in Sierra Leone and to identify factors associated with incomplete immunisation during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in three districts in Sierra Leone: Bombali, Tonkolili and Port Loko. A three-stage cluster sampling method was followed to enrol children aged 10-23 months. Information regarding immunisation status was based on vaccination cards or caretaker's recall. Using WHO's definition, a fully immunised child received one BCG dose, three oral polio vaccine doses, three pentavalent vaccine doses and one measles-containing vaccine dose. Following the national schedule, full immunisation status can be achieved at 9 months of age. Data were weighted to reflect the survey's sampling design. Associations between incomplete immunisation and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed through multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 720 children were enrolled between November and December 2021. Full vaccination coverage was estimated at 65.8% (95% CI 60.3%-71.0%). Coverage estimates were highest for vaccines administered at birth and decreased with doses administered subsequently. Adjusting for age, the lowest estimated coverage was 40.7% (95% CI 34.5%-47.2%) for the second dose of the measles-containing vaccine. Factors found to be associated with incomplete immunisation status were: living in Port Loko district (aOR = 3.47, 95% CI = 2.00-6.06; p-value < 0.001), the interviewed caretaker being Muslim (aOR = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.25-3.02; p-value = 0.015) and the interviewed caretaker being male (aOR = 1.93, 95% CI = 1.03-3.59, p-value = 0.039). CONCLUSION: Though full immunisation coverage at district level improved compared with pre-pandemic district estimates from 2019, around one in three surveyed children had missed at least one basic routine vaccination and over half of eligible children had not received the recommended two doses of a measles-containing vaccine. These findings highlight the need to strengthen health systems to improve vaccination uptake in Sierra Leone, and to further explore barriers that may jeopardise equitable access to these life-saving interventions.

Myrte Wassenaar, Augustin Eric Fombah, Haily Chen et al.

SurvivalPractitionerSLRead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex - Early Childhood1 May 2018

What implementation evidence matters: scaling‐up nurturing interventions that promote early childhood development

Research in early childhood development (ECD) has established the need for scaling-up multisectoral interventions for nurturing care to promote ECD, for improved socioeconomic outcomes for sustainable societies. However, key elements and processes for implementation and scale-up of such interventions are not well understood. This special series on implementation research and practice for ECD brings together evidence to inform effectiveness, quality, and scale in nurturing care programs; identifies knowledge gaps; and proposes further directions for research and practice. This paper frames the dimensions and components fundamental to the understanding of implementation processes for nurturing care interventions, factors for improving implementation of interventions, and strategies to scale by embedding interventions in delivery systems. We discuss emerging issues in implementation research for ECD, including (1) the role of context in adaptation and implementation, (2) standardized reporting of implementation research, (3) the importance of feasibility studies to inform scale-up and capacity building, (4) fidelity and program quality improvement, and (5) intervention integration into existing systems. Effective implementation of nurturing care interventions is at the heart of achieving positive developmental outcomes for young children. It is pivotal to adapt and implement these interventions based on evidence for high impact, especially in low-resource settings.

Pia Rebello Britto, Manpreet Singh, Tarun Dua et al.

DevelopmentUSCHRead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex19 Mar 2021

Zero-dose children and the immunisation cascade: Understanding immunisation pathways in low and middle-income countries

INTRODUCTION: Zero-dose prevalence refers to children who failed to receive any routine vaccination. Little is known about the "immunisation cascade" in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), defined as how children move from zero dose to full immunisation. METHODS: Using data from national surveys carried out in 92 LMICs since 2010 and focusing on the four basic vaccines delivered in infancy (BCG, polio, DPT and MCV), we describe zero-dose prevalence and the immunisation cascade in children aged 12 to 23 months. We also describe the most frequent combinations of vaccines (or co-coverage) among children who are partially immunized. Analyses are stratified by country income groups, household wealth quintiles derived from asset indices, sex of the child and area of residence. Results were pooled across countries using child populations as weights. RESULTS: In the 92 countries, 7.7% were in the zero-dose group, and 3.3%, 3.4% and 14.6% received one, two or three vaccines, respectively; 70.9% received the four types and 59.9% of the total were fully immunised with all doses of the four vaccines. Three quarters (76.8%) of children who received the first vaccine received all four types. Among children with a single vaccine, polio was the most common in low- and lower-middle income countries, and BCG in upper-middle income countries. There were sharp inequalities according to household wealth, with zero-dose prevalence ranging from 12.5% in the poorest to 3.4% in the wealthiest quintile across all countries. The cascades were similar for boys and girls. In terms of dropout, 4% of children receiving BCG did not receive DPT1, 14% receiving DPT1 did not receive DPT3, and 9% receiving DPT3 did not progress to receive MCV. INTERPRETATION: Focusing on zero-dose children is particularly important because those who are reached with the first vaccine are highly likely to also receive remaining vaccines.

Bianca O. Cata-Preta, Thiago Melo Santos, Tewodaj Mengistu et al.

SurvivalZANGETPKRead at source

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