Case Studies on Addressing Early Childhood in Three Host Country Contexts

The Moving Minds Alliance has commissioned this cross-country analysis on the refugee response for young children, as the synthesis of a series of case studies that took place in Bangladesh, Jordan, and Uganda. These three countries were selected given the diversity of the refugee situation within each context and to represent a range of refugee responses. Countries hosting refugees often face economic and political hardships even in the absence of a humanitarian crisis, and Bangladesh, Jordan, and Uganda are no different. As a result, although ambitious early childhood development (ECD) policies may be in place and visions of comprehensive ECD may be captured in national strategies, in reality the resource base is extremely low.  The present report reviews the findings of three qualitative case studies, one each in Bangladesh, Jordan, and Uganda, to identify the common challenges and promising practices that have emerged from these national experiences. As the numbers of refugees globally reach unprecedented numbers, the urgency of ensuring that displaced young children are supported sufficiently to achieve their developmental potential becomes more acute.

The challenge of ECD being generally excluded from humanitarian response (i.e., considered something that “can wait”) requires a large-scale, well-resourced strategic effort on the part of donors and advocates; this report recommends studying the tactics of the Education in Emergencies field, which has successfully gained a seat at the table. The report further recommends that ECD donors and advocates partner with governments to build capacity for sustainable ECD systems, rather than support one-off programs or NGO initiatives. Finally, there is a call for improved use of rigorous data (including human-centered design) to more effectively allocate resources to the degree of need at population, community, and family levels.