The foundation for a better future

Imagine a world where every child has the chance to thrive — healthy, well-nourished, and ready to learn from the start. This is the promise of Early Childhood Development (ECD), a powerful, cost-effective solution to some of the world’s greatest challenges, from poverty and inequality to poor health and climate vulnerability.

Yet, each year, millions of children are left behind, missing the support they need in the most critical years of life. The result? A lifetime of missed opportunities — in health, education, and wellbeing — and the entrenchment of disadvantage we have the power to stop before it begins.

A decade ago, ECD captured significant attention as a philanthropic and policy priority. Campaigns spotlighted the critical first 1,000 days of life. Initiatives like the Lancet Series on ECD and the Dubai Declaration fuelled global momentum, while the 2022 Tashkent Declaration reaffirmed global commitments to Early Childhood Care and Education.

However, limited follow-up funding and a lack of large-scale action plans have left ambitions unfulfilled.

As of 2022, over half of the world’s young children still lacked access to essential quality early childhood care and education (World Bank, 2021). Just 1.4 percent of global education aid went to pre-primary education — far short of the 10% target (Theirworld, 2024).

This chronic underinvestment carries deep and lasting consequences. Neglecting ECD doesn’t just limit individual potential — it weakens human capital, undermines economic stability, and delays progress across entire societies.

Philanthropy has often driven progress, filling gaps left by governments and markets, particularly in developing countries. By its nature, philanthropy follows global trends, prioritising urgent crises like climate change and post-pandemic recovery.

While these causes are vital, this reactive approach can sideline systemic, long-term investments. ECD is one such investment: a transformative, evidence-based strategy that has quietly slipped from the spotlight.

But philanthropy is only part of the puzzle. Our collective ‘present bias’ — the tendency to favor quick wins over long-term solutions — often leads to short-term interventions being prioritized over sustainable strategies.

ECD is not sidelined due to a lack of evidence, but because its most powerful outcomes take time to fully unfold. Adding to this is the failure to integrate ECD into broader policies. While SDG 4 (quality education) explicitly highlights ECD, national education policies typically prioritise primary and secondary schooling, neglecting the crucial early years. Ignoring this stage is like building a house without a solid foundation.

Despite its transformative potential, ECD is too often confined to the realm of early education, overlooking its broader relevance to pressing global challenges like poverty, conflict, climate change, and equity.

In reality, holistic ECD brings together health, nutrition, early learning, and caregiving — providing a foundation that strengthens families, supports communities, and equips children with the skills they need to thrive.

Think of ECD as the roots of a tree. Without strong roots, the branches of education, health, and climate resilience cannot flourish. When viewed through this wider lens, ECD emerges not just as a service for children, but as a powerful, cross-cutting strategy for building a more equitable, sustainable world.

Take climate change, for instance. Too often, pro-climate strategies in education focus on visible, short-term actions — solar panels, recycling bins, environmental awareness lessons, or tree planting. While these efforts are commendable, they are a Band-Aid — reactive measures that barely scratch the surface of a much deeper, long-term challenge.

ECD, on the other hand, is a proactive strategy for climate resilience that goes far beyond conventional “greening” strategies.

For example, programmes that support family resilience help communities navigate climate-related uncertainties. Nutrition and health interventions ensure children grow up physically and cognitively prepared to face challenges. And social-emotional learning nurtures adaptability and collaboration — the very skills needed to navigate an unpredictable, rapidly changing world.

In this light, ECD is not only about early care and learning; it is climate action in its most foundational form.

These are not abstract ideas; they are practical, scalable, and cost-effective solutions.

ECD can be integrated into existing systems, like healthcare visits, at minimal additional cost. ECD can also thrive in informal settings, using tools like parenting workshops, mobile learning platforms, and community-led initiatives to reach underserved children, including those in crisis situations.

Even simple interventions — such as parenting support — can lead to transformative outcomes, proving that ECD doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive to be effective. To ensure lasting impact, however, these programs must be supported by national policies and consistent funding.

Children are the most vulnerable to global crises, yet the services that could support their early development are often missing, fragmented, or severely underfunded. This imbalance is striking, given that ECD is one of the most well-researched, high-impact, and cost-effective investments.

Funders and policymakers now have a critical opportunity: to elevate ECD from the margins and recognise it as a scalable solution to today’s most urgent challenges — from inequality and poor health to climate resilience and social cohesion.

Building a sustainable future starts with investing in the youngest. Addressing challenges at their roots lays the foundation for generations to come.