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The first years of a child’s life are critical to their lifelong physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development. Early childhood measurement and evaluation mechanisms are essential for providing policymakers and other actors with the information to develop policies and programs safeguarding children’s comprehensive development.
On April 29, the Brazilian Ministry of Health, together with the Inter-American Dialogue, UNICEF, the REMDI, the Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation, the José Luiz Egydio Setúbal Foundation, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), hosted the International Seminar on Early Childhood Development Monitoring at PAHO’s headquarters in Brasilia.
The seminar introduced the experiences, challenges, and policy instruments for evaluating early childhood development in several Latin American countries, including Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Mexico. The meeting facilitated a specialized discussion and knowledge exchange on child development. Different actors from the public and private sectors, international organizations, and civil society gained valuable knowledge on actions to improve public policies for early childhood and strengthened capacities for regional cooperation.
Represented by Sarah Stanton, Education Program Manager, and Micaela Finoli, Education Associate Consultant, the Inter-American Dialogue shared its efforts to build the Regional Network for Early Childhood Measurement (REMDI) and advance an equitable regional early childhood agenda. Stanton’s closing remarks stated, “At the Dialogue, we value these forums highly, not only for their role in monitoring early childhood development, but also because these discussions allow us to mobilize political, financial, and social support for children. It also helps to create a real culture of regional cooperation, a key element of our regional early childhood agenda.”
Additionally, the REMDI—established in 2016 as a network to facilitate the exchange of early childhood expertise and assistance among countries in Latin America—was represented by Lorena Rivera, Executive Director of Centro de Estudios Primera Infancia (CEPI) of Chile, Giorgina Garibotto, Director of Knowledge Management of Uruguay, Crece Contigo of the Ministry of Social Development, Argelia Vázquez Salas, Researcher at the Center for Population Health Research of the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico, and Jenny Encina, Head of the Social Reality Analysis Department, Social Observatory Division, Ministry of Social Development and Family of Chile.
The day before the seminar, international organizations, civil society actors, and government representatives from Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay reunited to discuss the regional advancements on early childhood development, such as education and health measurements at the individual and national levels. In addition, representatives discussed Latin America’s future challenges, such as the need to establish sustainable cooperation systems for exchanging knowledge and technical assistance that allow for consistent cross-country evaluations. In her closing remarks, Finoli stated, “In recent years, the region has seen progress in building systems for measuring child development. More factors are measured and in better ways. The current task is to advance the use of the collected information, thus fostering a robust culture of evidence use.”
