From Early Child Development to Human Development: Investing in Our Children's Future

This report offers the reader an overview of the many programs around the world that are targeting children from birth to the age of eight. These programs are supported and run by national governments, multinational organizations, bilateral donors, and a host of nongovernmental organizations. As part of the Bank's Directions in Development series, this report complements such other reports as Enriching Lives, an up-to date summary of cost-effective investments in micronutrients; Building Human Capital for Better Lives, which focuses on strategies for building human capital within a sound macroeconomic environment; Investing in People, which highlights successful Bank-supported efforts across the social sector spectrum; and Private and Public Initiatives, which explores a variety of methods that governments and private entrepreneurs around the world have developed to bring basic services to the people. The second half of the report briefly describes a variety of early child development programs now in operation. Policymakers and program managers may find these sketches useful when designing programs for preschool children. No matter the country or cultural setting of such programs, they share a single goal: improvLng very young children's development and therefore their prospects for the future.