New insights gained

Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/)
The Center’s commitment to global work represents both an acknowledgement of moral responsibility to meet the needs of all children and a critical investment in the roots of economic productivity, positive health outcomes, and strong civil society in all nations, from the poorest to the most affluent. One essential, cross-cutting aspect of the Center’s approach is its commitment to work collaboratively across disciplines and institutions, drawing together the best and most creative expertise available to achieve the Initiative’s goals.

1.At a time when inequalities in school achievement, workforce skills, and lifelong health status compromise a nation’s competitiveness in a global economy, the need for new ideas to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty around the world is critical. Science tells us that the foundations for successful adulthood are established early in life. The substantial gap between what we know about the roots of growing disparities in health, learning, and behavior and what we are doing to promote the well-being of vulnerable children internationally provides a compelling agenda for strengthening policies and investments that focus on the earliest years of life. Over the past decade, the world’s policymakers have increased their attention to early childhood health and development, which opens new prospects for advancing a comprehensive early childhood agenda. They seek to to generate and apply new knowledge that addresses the health and developmental needs of young children in a variety of settings.  In this effort, the Center is pleased to operate the Özyegin Family - AÇEV Global Early Childhood Research Fund, which supports cutting-edge research conducted by Harvard scholars and their collaborators across a variety of fields and disciplines related to early childhood development. With this fund, the Center and AÇEV seek to advance global understanding of the early childhood roots of disparities in learning, health and behavior to have an impact on policy and practice in countries around the world.


2.The Zambian Early Childhood Development Project (ZECDP) is about measuring the effects of an ongoing anti-malaria initiative on children’s development in Zambia.

“The ZECDP created a new comprehensive instrument for assessing children’s physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development before and throughout their schooling careers—the first assessment tool of its kind in Zambia. Completed in May 2010, the Zambian Child Assessment Test (ZamCAT) combines existing child development measures with newly developed items in order to provide a broad assessment of children of preschool age in the Zambian context”  (The President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2013).

 

 

3.The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University was founded in 2006 on the belief that the vitality and sustainability of any society depends on the extent to which it expands opportunities early in life for all children to achieve their full potential and engage in responsible and productive citizenship. They view healthy child development as the foundation of economic prosperity, strong communities, and a just society, and their mission is to advance that vision by using science to enhance child well-being through innovations in policy and practice.

The quality of being fair and impartial: "equity of treatment".
I hope all children will get a fair start in life.


References

The President and Fellows of Harvard College (2013).Center on the developing child. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/