Early Childhood

Investment in early childhood can break the cycle of poverty

© UNICEF/ HQ00-0567/ LeMoyne

A woman carrying a baby in a sling pouch on her back smiles in a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) near the town of Keren, 90 km's north-west of Asmara, Eritrea.

Both girls and children of impoverished families suffer disproportionately from physical disabilities, learning impairment and disadvantages established in early childhood.

Not only are the risks of infant and under-five mortality highest among poorer families, but their surviving children experience higher rates of malnutrition, disease, developmental delays, abuse and neglect. And because poorer parents are generally less educated and lack access to quality social services, their children’s school preparedness and performance tends to suffer. Consequently, intergenerational patterns of poverty and inequity are perpetuated – on a massive global scale because 2.8 billion people are poor, living on less than $2 a day, with 1.2 billion of them living in absolute poverty on less than $1 a day.

A necessary condition for breaking these twin vicious cycles of poverty and inequity is ensuring that every impoverished child gets the best start in life – to give them the opportunities to rise out of poverty and to narrow income and other welfare gaps. A compelling body of evidence shows that children of the poorest or most disadvantaged families and communities – and the most disadvantaged and excluded children living without families – derive the greatest benefits from being ensured the best start in life. Early interventions reduce disparities and help the poorest most.

Similarly, because of entrenched gender bias in many regions, young girls fare less well than boys in many aspects of early childhood, including receiving a worse diet and health care. (Estimates indicate that there are 60-100 million fewer women alive today then there would be in a world without gender discrimination and without social norms that favour sons.)

Gender bias often continues into adolescence and adulthood, with practices such as early marriage or poor health services, which result in high rates of maternal mortality. The consequences are doubly tragic because a young child’s chances of survival and well-being drop dramatically when deprived of a mother’s care, perpetuating the cycle of childhood mortality and lost developmental potential during early childhood. And for every woman who dies, approximately 30 more develop serious, disabling problems that often affect their ability to care for their children.

Breaking the cycles of disadvantage faced by girls and women begins with ensuring every young girl the best start in life. Girls benefit most from early interventions that foster their physical, cognitive and emotional development, especially in societies where discrimination against girls is strong. In Nepal, for example, children from disadvantaged families who had the opportunity to attend an informal preschool were 20 per cent more likely to attend school than those who did not. But for girls, the effect was greater – they were 36 per cent more likely to enter school.