IDB and Partners Drive High-Impact Innovation in Early Childhood Development

The Early Childhood Development Innovation Fund backed 23 projects in 10 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, benefiting over 700,000 children.

WASHINGTON-The Early Childhood Development Innovation Fund, a groundbreaking initiative by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and other strategic partners, improved the quality of life of more than 700,000 children in Latin America and the Caribbean. In its eight years of implementation, during which it invested $10 million, it also benefited 300,000 parents and caregivers and 5,000 childcare centers in the region.

The 23 projects it funded in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, and Uruguay explored new ways to boost attendance in early childhood education, improve the quality of interactions between children and caregivers, and address the situation of migrant children.

"Investing in children's development is a highly cost-effective strategy. Quality programs for vulnerable children ages zero to five generate an annual return as high as 14%," said Ferdinando Regalia, IDB Social Sector Manager. "Not making these investments has a high cost for society and undermines the future education, economy, and health of an entire country," he concluded.

One of the fund's most notable initiatives is the Reach Up and Learn program in Jamaica, which supported and strengthened parenting skills in the home during the COVID-19 pandemic. This program was later adapted to Brazil's context, with positive results for children's cognitive and language development. In Uruguay, the fund backed an intervention to reduce absenteeism in preschool education through messages to caregivers. In Colombia, support was provided for the analysis needed to facilitate the expansion of Semillas de Apego, a community program for families living in vulnerable contexts.

To find innovative ways to scale up child development programs while emphasizing quality, the IDB joined forces with leading civil society organizations-FEMSA Foundation, Van Leer Foundation, María Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation, and Porticus-to create the fund. The alliance came together to finance, design, implement, and evaluate novel and scalable approaches that improve the lives of children under age five in the region, with a focus on the most disadvantaged groups within each country.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the cost of non-action in early childhood amounts to 1.6% of the region's gross domestic product (GDP). Millions of children in the region still lack essential health, nutrition, and early childhood stimulation services. The average country in the region only allocates 0.34% of its GDP to preschool education, well below the average percentage in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries. This low investment restricts access to quality services and deepens social inequalities.

In addition to its projects, the Early Childhood Development Innovation Fund became a regional knowledge platform. It generated evidence on the most effective interventions and shared resources and best practices through the Community of Practice in Early Childhood Development and the Childhood Development Hub. This effort bolstered collaboration between governments, civil society, the private sector, and academia and laid the groundwork for more effective and sustainable public policies.

The achievements of the Innovation Fund for Early Childhood Development in Latin America and the Caribbean reflect the IDB Group's commitment to expanding the impact and scale of development initiatives to fuel sustainable economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean in a way that puts people at the center of development.