The challenges and opportunities for supporting early childhood development in contexts of crisis
Millions of children are born in conflict-affected settings each year. While conflict and displacement can have severe effects on young children’s brain development and long-term health, learning and well-being, early childhood development (ECD) services, including early childhood education (ECE), can play a powerful role in mitigating and protecting against the most harmful impacts of compounding adversity. To highlight the challenges and opportunities for supporting early childhood development in contexts of crisis, the INEE ECD Task Team hosted a webinar highlighting three important recent contributions:
- An analysis of Early Childhood Development in Humanitarian Standards and Guidance Documents conducted by Lucy Bassett and colleagues at the University of Virginia Humanitarian Collaborative and commissioned by The Moving Minds Alliance (presenter: Lucy Bassett)
- A global stock-taking survey, scoping review, and lessons learned from an ECD-EiE sector-wide analysis in the Colombian context conducted by Angelica Ponguta and colleagues at Yale University (presenters: Angelica Ponguta and Lucero Ramirez)
- A report on ways to strengthen support for Early Childhood Education Teachers in Refugee Settings led by Maysa Jalbout and Katy Bullard at Theirworld (presenter: Maysa Jalbout and featuring a brief video of Remie Rhayem from the Lebanese NGO Ana Aqra)