Health Programs for Early Childhood Development

It is important for the health sector to strengthen interventions to promote ECD because there are common risk factors that are not only harmful for physical health and growth, but developmental well-being, including biological risks such as malnutrition and infectious diseases. In order for children to thrive, we also need to promote children’s psycho-social stimulation and help parents with responsive care. Maternal depression is often not addressed and can harm not only the mother, but also the health and well-being of the child – and this threatens the cycle of development. Physical and psychosocial risk factors have a common time window of opportunity where delivering an intervention is very effective: between zero and five years of age. The health sector is more likely to be in touch with pregnant women, newborn, and infants than other sectors at this particular point in the life course. Examples are given of the health sector making interventions.

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