Disaster Risk Reduction and Early Childhood Development in the Philippines

This paper explores the importance of Early Childhood Development (ECD) in emergencies and the extent to which ECD played a role in disaster response and recovery in the context of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. The integration of ECD into Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) planning as well as ways of making ECD interventions more resilient to future emergencies are considered, with attention to the fact that efforts to understand the situation, particularly in remote areas, is ongoing. The term Early Childhood Development (ECD) is used throughout the paper for the sake of consistency. It is inclusive of what has been defined as Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) and Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD). ECD refers to a range of programs and interventions serving children and the adults who care for them during the first eight years of life, and may originate in the education, health, or child protection sectors.