19 November 2024, 13:00 GMT
Following the first 1,000 days of life that span from conception to 2 years of age, the ‘next 1,000 days’ of a child’s life from 2 to 5 years of age offer a window of opportunity to promote nurturing and caring environments, establish healthy behaviours, and build on early gains to sustain or improve trajectories of healthy development. This new two-part Lancet series on early childhood development focuses on the transition to the ‘next 1,000 days’ of the life course, describing why this developmental period matters, identifying the environments of care, risks, and protective factors that shape children’s development. The papers also estimate the number of children who receive adequate nurturing care, and examine whether current interventions are meeting children’s needs.
In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), 181.9 million children ages 3 and 4 are not receiving nurturing care, thus jeopardising their development. The series summarises the evidence, benefits and costs of key strategies to support children’s development in this age range. It highlights the high cost of inaction, revealing that failing to implement a basic early childhood care and education (ECCE) package globally results in significant societal losses—potentially 8 to 19 times greater than the investment required for ECCE.
The series stresses the need to provide access to adequate nurturing care, including equitable access to high quality ECCE, safe and supportive environments with adequate stimulation, protection from physical punishment, adequate nutrition to all children, universal developmental screening, and financial support for vulnerable populations.