Early Childhood Development and Health
The first years of life are critical for the physical, emotional and intellectual development of a child
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What we do?
Early childhood is the most crucial time in a child’s life. Before age 5 our brains develop faster than during any other time in our life, and we develop physical, mental, and emotional foundations for our entire life ahead. Investments in parents and their young children are highly effective and among the most cost-effective methods used to prevent future high spending on health and poverty alleviation services.
In 2018. UNICEF and World Health Organization adopted a document – “Nurturing Care Framework” which gives clear guidelines for policies and practices supporting children during their earliest years. According to this document, to reach their full potential, children need the 5 inter-related components of nurturing care:
- good health,
- adequate nutrition,
- safety and security,
- responsive caregiving,
- opportunities for playful learning in early childhood through interactions with their parents.
Early childhood development programmes are most beneficial for children from the most disadvantaged families and significantly benefit to lowering inequality between peers. Parents are a child’s most important support, guides, windows into the world and teachers. Support programmes that empower parents set the ground for optimal early childhood development and long-term resilience throughout life.
For children in Serbia to develop and have better childhood experiences and life outcomes in adulthood, UNICEF supports:
- Strong infant and young child policies and services that are aligned with the Nurturing Care Framework and that include care for the well-being of children and their caregivers, especially in vulnerable families, such as families living in poverty, Roma families and families with children with disabilities.
- Improvement of maternal care that includes promotion of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months, so that every child can survive and thrive.
- More efficient procurement and distribution of essential child vaccines, more effective data management systems on immunization and child health, communication through the health services and media platforms, as well as a better-prepared outbreak response.
- Quality cross-sectoral response and further advancement of services in early development through the work of home-visiting nurses, pre-school institutions and social protection services in order to empower parents and caregivers for quality child-rearing so they can provide children with affection, attention and stimulation through play and exploration through interacting with both parents.
- Introducing quality early childhood intervention, starting with timely detection of developmental risks and including intervention through three key support systems – health protection, preschool education and social welfare – to build on a family-oriented approach in addressing needs of children with developmental delays and disabilities, their parents and caregivers.
Strengthening neonatal hospitals, especially for intensive care, to respond to the urgent needs of the most sensitive babies, and strengthening resources so they can deliver life-sustaining and nurturing care.
- More efficient procurement and distribution of essential child vaccines, more effective data management systems on immunization and child health, communication through the health services and media platforms, as well as a better-prepared outbreak response.
- Quality cross-sectoral response and further advancement of services in early development through the work of home-visiting nurses, pre-school institutions and social protection services in order to empower parents and caregivers for quality child-rearing so they can provide children with affection, attention and stimulation through play and exploration through interacting with both parents.
- Introducing quality early childhood intervention, starting with timely detection of developmental risks and including intervention through three key support systems – health protection, preschool education and social welfare – to build on a family-oriented approach in addressing needs of children with developmental delays and disabilities, their parents and caregivers.
UNICEF strengthens the ability of healthcare and other sectors to provide quality early childhood development services, particularly to vulnerable children and their families – those living in poverty, Roma children and children with disabilities.
We advocate for strong infant and young child feeding policies and the scale-up of proven interventions from pregnancy through the first two years of life – from maternal nutrition, early and exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months, to the improvement in the nutritional status of the most vulnerable children.
Challenges
Human potential needs to be nurtured in the early ages of life of every child to increase the chances of better life outcomes and sustainable, healthier development of future generations.
Significant progress has been made in Serbia over the past decade in early childhood development; however, to respond to the urgent needs of young children and their families, an acceleration is needed so that no child is left behind.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic that brought additional challenges for children and parents, it was clear that Serbian society is still facing many inequalities. Children from the most marginalized groups continue to lag behind the rest of the population, and their rights and potentials are not being fulfilled, depriving them of opportunities to move out of poverty and social exclusion.
Data show that:
- Perinatal mortality of 8.2 per 1,000 births (Source: DevInfo) in Serbia is still much higher than the average rate of 4.9 in the 25 EU countries.
- 20 per cent of children from the general population are not fully immunized on time, while the same is true for 37 per cent of children from Roma settlements.
- Only 24 per cent of children are exclusively breastfed in the first five months, and only 8 per cent of children in Roma settlements.
- Only 41 per cent of fathers regularly engage in learning activities with their 2–4-year-old children, compared with only 11 per cent in Roma settlements.
One in three children between the ages of 3 and 4 suffer corporal punishment, even though 90 per cent of parents agree that it is not needed.
- Only half of children under 5 living in poor households have three or more books, compared with 90 per cent of children in the wealthiest group.
- Approximately 60,000 young children in Serbia face developmental risks and difficulties, and their families need additional support through early intervention services.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing vulnerabilities and social inequalities as well as the continuity of health services, affecting the emotional well-being and mental health of children and caregivers, and decreasing parents’ ability for playful, responsive practices that nurture child development and prevent adverse childhood experiences.
Visiting nurses
The only professional support for families who come into their homes; providing services in a family environment.
Developmental counselling units
Developmental counseling units provide support to parents and children if a child has a developmental problem.
Roma health mediators
Through field visits, they can recognize the health and social needs of the Roma population and help them solve them.
Results
UNICEF supports the line ministry of the Serbian Government in advancing the realization of young children’s rights, with a focus on the most marginalized children and their families who face challenges in accessing quality health and other services that support early childhood development, such as children with developmental difficulties and disabilities and Roma children.
In 2016, the Ministry of Health endorsed the National Early Childhood Development Programme that promotes children’s development and supports their parents to create the conditions for this. Also parenting support measures are integrated into local public health model plans.
Resources:
Knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to immunisation of children in Serbia
The smart book for mum and dad
Women motherhood early childhood development
Innovative solutions were introduced using digital technology for tele/video-counselling on nurturing care. This counselling is meant for the home-visiting nurses, early childhood intervention services and health mediators' services.
UNICEF has supported the Halo Beba phone counselling centre to develop a mobile app for parents of young children. This app is easy to use and offers content for parents across Serbia on nurturing care, childhood development and responsive and playful parenting.
A new model of integrated, family-oriented Early Childhood Intervention services is being piloted for expansion in the years to come. Innovative programmes for parents and new open-source assistive technology are being piloted to support parents and children with disabilities.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF has been providing intensive support to the Ministry of Health to ensure continuity and quality of life-saving maternal and child-care services. The aim is to ensure unhindered access to obstetric, neonatal and preventive paediatric care, immunization, home visiting nurses, and early childhood intervention services. UNICEF also helped equip neonatal intensive care units in major Serbian cities.
