Evaluation of UNICEF work in early childhood development and early childhood education, 2018–2023 (First regular session 2026)

About

Supporting and promoting early childhood development (ECD), including early childhood education (ECE) , is one of the core mandates of UNICEF. The present evaluation was designed to support organizational learning and accountability of UNICEF investments in ECD and ECE between 2018 and 2023. The evaluation found a significant UNICEF contribution to multisectoral ECD national policies and plans, systems strengthening for front -line workforce development and parental/caregiver engagement . This indicates that the organization made an effective case for investing in ECD as a strong catalyst for realizing national and global development goals. Notably, even during the coronavirus disease UNICEF successfully scaled and reached parents and caregivers through its ECD and ECE programming efforts from 2018 to 2023, reaching more than 220 million children, including about 150 million in emergencies.

There are some areas of concern as well – insufficient financial investment for ECD overall and the ECE subsector, and a lack of consistent data on child development outcomes and parent/ caregiver practices. Organizational approaches for integration of sectoral work in ECD require greater clarification within the UNICEF ECD theory of change and measurement frameworks.

The evaluation recommendations aim to strengthen UNICEF policies and guidance to ensure that they are ECD-sensitive by explicitly identifying the unique needs of young children of different ages and marginalized groups, strengthening advocacy for public financing for ECD and the ECE subsector, and providing guidance on internal and external coherence of the integrated ECD approach.

United Nations Children’s Fund
Executive Board
First regular session 2026
10–13 February 2026