IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/poprpr/v40y2021i2d10.1007_s11113-020-09581-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development: Path to Improving Child Outcomes in Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Hayley Pierce

    (Brigham Young University)

Abstract

The importance of early childhood development has been on the radar of social scientists for decades, yet its connection to global development potential is relatively new. In May 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) outlined a Nurturing Care Framework (NCF) to improve childhood development, claiming that one of the best ways a country can improve prosperity, economic growth, equitable opportunities, and reduce social inequalities is simple: invest in early childhood development. The WHO components of the NCF include: (1) good health, (2) adequate nutrition, (3) responsive caregiving, (4) opportunities for early learning, and (5) security and safety. Many of the existing discussions on improved child development focus on one avenue to improve child development and fail to compare various possible avenues to determine which is most critical. This paper utilizes Demographic and Health Survey data and WomanStats data from 7 African countries to determine the most influential factor to improve early childhood development for 36–59-month-old children, among those listed in the NCF. Measures of child development include: understanding words and numbers, ability to follow instruction, independence, playing with others, and distractibility. Though all five components of the NCF are necessary, understanding the most influential will streamline efforts moving forward. Results suggest that early learning opportunities and security and safety are most crucial to early childhood development, providing a clear path forward for governments, aid organizations, and households.

Suggested Citation

  • Hayley Pierce, 2021. "Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development: Path to Improving Child Outcomes in Africa," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(2), pages 285-307, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:poprpr:v:40:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s11113-020-09581-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11113-020-09581-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11113-020-09581-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11113-020-09581-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sonalde Desai & Soumya Alva, 1998. "Maternal education and child health: Is there a strong causal relationship?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 35(1), pages 71-81, February.
    2. Gage, Anastasia J., 2007. "Barriers to the utilization of maternal health care in rural Mali," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(8), pages 1666-1682, October.
    3. Hayley Pierce & Ashley Larsen Gibby & Renata Forste, 2016. "Caregiver Decision-Making: Household Response to Child Illness in Sub-Saharan Africa," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(5), pages 581-597, October.
    4. Pierce, Hayley & Heaton, Tim B. & Hoffmann, John, 2014. "Increasing maternal healthcare use in Rwanda: Implications for child nutrition and survival," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 61-67.
    5. Guliani, Harminder & Sepehri, Ardeshir & Serieux, John, 2012. "What impact does contact with the prenatal care system have on women’s use of facility delivery? Evidence from low-income countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(12), pages 1882-1890.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Treleaven, Emily, 2023. "The relationship between extended kin resources and children's healthcare utilization: An analysis of family networks," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).
    2. Adjiwanou, Vissého & Bougma, Moussa & LeGrand, Thomas, 2018. "The effect of partners' education on women's reproductive and maternal health in developing countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 104-115.
    3. Adjiwanou, Vissého & LeGrand, Thomas, 2013. "Does antenatal care matter in the use of skilled birth attendance in rural Africa: A multi-country analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 26-34.
    4. Pierce, Hayley & Heaton, Tim B. & Hoffmann, John, 2014. "Increasing maternal healthcare use in Rwanda: Implications for child nutrition and survival," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 61-67.
    5. Diane Coffey & Ashwini Deshpande & Jeffrey Hammer & Dean Spears, 2019. "Local Social Inequality, Economic Inequality, and Disparities in Child Height in India," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1427-1452, August.
    6. Okada, Keisuke, 2012. "The effects of female HIV/AIDS status on fertility and child health in Cambodia," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 560-570.
    7. Derek Headey & David Stifel & Liangzhi You & Zhe Guo, 2018. "Remoteness, urbanization, and child nutrition in sub‐Saharan Africa," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(6), pages 765-775, November.
    8. Kasim Allel & Gerard Abou Jaoude & Stavros Poupakis & Neha Batura & Jolene Skordis & Hassan Haghparast-Bidgoli, 2021. "Exploring the Associations between Early Childhood Development Outcomes and Ecological Country-Level Factors across Low- and Middle-Income Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-15, March.
    9. Nobles, Jenna & Weintraub, Miranda Ritterman & Adler, Nancy E., 2013. "Subjective socioeconomic status and health: Relationships reconsidered," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 58-66.
    10. Dirk Van de gaer & Joost Vandenbossche & José Luis Figueroa, 2014. "Children's Health Opportunities and Project Evaluation: Mexico's Oportunidades Program," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 28(2), pages 282-310.
    11. repec:ilo:ilowps:361745 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Christina Paxson & Norbert Schady, 2007. "Does Money Matter? The Effects of Cash Transfers on Child Health and Development in Rural Ecuador," Working Papers 145, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    13. Deniz Karaoğlan & Dürdane Şirin Saraçoğlu, 2018. "Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Early Childhood Health: the Case of Turkey," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(3), pages 1051-1075, June.
    14. Flatø, Martin & Kotsadam, Andreas, 2014. "Droughts and Gender Bias in Infant Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa," Memorandum 02/2014, Oslo University, Department of Economics.
    15. Alassane DRABO & Christian EBEKE, 2010. "Remittances, Public Health Spending and Foreign Aid in the Access to Health Care Services in Developing Countries," Working Papers 201004, CERDI.
    16. Sunde, Uwe & Cervellati, Matteo, 2007. "Human Capital, Mortality and Fertility: A Unified Theory of the Economic and Demographic Transition," CEPR Discussion Papers 6384, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Rizwana Siddiqui, 2008. "Income, Public Social Services, and Capability Development: A Cross-district Analysis of Pakistan," PIDE-Working Papers 2008:43, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    18. Hongbin Li & Xianguo Yao & Junsen Zhang & Li-An Zhou, 2005. "Parental childcare and children's educational attainment: evidence from China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(18), pages 2067-2076.
    19. Kruk, Margaret E. & Rockers, Peter C. & Mbaruku, Godfrey & Paczkowski, Magdalena M. & Galea, Sandro, 2010. "Community and health system factors associated with facility delivery in rural Tanzania: A multilevel analysis," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(2-3), pages 209-216, October.
    20. Pradeep Kumar Choudhury, 2015. "Explaining the Role of Parental Education in the Regional Variations in Infant Mortality in India," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 2(3), pages 544-572, September.
    21. Majlesi, Kaveh, 2014. "Demand for Low-Skilled Labor and Parental Investment in Children's Education: Evidence from Mexico," Working Papers 2014:5, Lund University, Department of Economics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:poprpr:v:40:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s11113-020-09581-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.