The Nurturing care for early childhood development: a framework for helping children survive and thrive to transform health and human potential was created in response to strong evidence and growing recognition that the early years are critical for human development.
Investing in early childhood development is one of the best investments a country can make to boost economic growth, promote peaceful and sustainable societies, and eliminate extreme poverty and inequality. Equally important, investing in early childhood development is necessary to uphold the right of every child to survive and thrive.
The Framework provides an evidence-based roadmap for action and outlines how policies and services can support parents, families, other caregivers and communities in providing nurturing care for young children. It calls for effective national programmes that are driven by strong and sustained political commitment and a determination to reduce inequity, poverty and social injustice, drawing on best practices from across high-, middle- and low-income countries.
The Framework was developed by WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank, in collaboration with the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, the Early Childhood Development Action Network and many other partners. More than 1000 individuals and organizations from 111 countries informed the drafting process of this framework.