Early Childhood Development Action Network - ECDAN

10/19/2026

NEW REPORT: The path to a lead-free future runs through governments that measure, regulate, and enforce on their own. Our 2026 Impact Report shows that path taking shape in 11 countries.

A few highlights:
- Ghana set its first legal limit on lead in cookware.
- Bangladesh adopted a national strategy through 2035 and took enforcement action against 57 illegal battery recycling sites.
- Ethiopia committed to cutting childhood blood lead levels 60% by 2030.
- Valenzuela City passed the Philippines’ first city-level lead ordinance and funds testing from its own budget.
- Peru’s Public Prosecutor’s Office put lead-contaminated consumer goods on its oversight agenda.

Read the full report to learn more: https://www.pureearth.org/2026-impact

10/19/2026

Once lead enters the body, it can travel to the brain, kidneys, liver and bones — and build up over time. Lead exposure can damage multiple systems, which is why prevention is so critical. More info: https://bit.ly/4yNEPVD

10/14/2026

What does it actually cost to achieve meaningful change in specific contexts for specific populations?

New research from the Global Costing Taskforce aims to put forward a harmonized set of standards for the generation, analysis, reporting, dissemination, and use of cost evidence in the global education and ECCE sector in order to answer this question.

Check out the guidance note here, and scroll to the bottom of the page for one-page recommendations by stakeholder.

Elena Walls and Emily Gustafsson-Wright present a harmonized framework for generating, analyzing, reporting, disseminating, and using cost evidence across the global education sector.

10/12/2026

🌍 One month to go until the Second Global Ministerial Conference to End Violence Against Children!

With the conference taking place in Manila, Philippines, on 18–19 November 2026, now is a critical time to strengthen commitments to ending violence against children, including through greater investment in parenting support.

Ahead of the conference, the Global Initiative to Support Parents (GISP) invites governments, advocates, and partners to join our town hall this Wednesday to discuss the pledging process, explore opportunities to strengthen country commitments, and share experiences of expanding access to parenting support.

Whether you are working with your government to develop pledges or advancing parenting support in other ways, join the conversation and help build momentum for action.

👉 Register for Wednesday’s town hall: https://us.list-manage.com/VTnBqjKfu1K?e=568c65f39f&c2id=005609e605ecfe457a1732dbef3bff8b

10/11/2026

🎉 Every girl deserves the opportunity to grow, learn and shape her own future.

On , we join the call to “End child marriage and invest in girls’ rights!”

The scale of the challenge remains significant. Around 650 million women and girls alive today were married before the age of 18, and more than 12 million girls enter child marriage each year.

Child marriage can interrupt girls’ education, limit their opportunities, and increase risks to their health and well-being.

For Early Childhood Development Action Network - ECDAN, investing in girls’ rights means investing in the early years. Ensuring girls have access to nurturing care and quality early childhood development helps create the foundations for them to thrive throughout their lives.

Ending child marriage requires action across the life course, including investments that support girls from the earliest years and strengthen their rights, opportunities and agency as they grow. Every girl deserves a childhood.

Every girl deserves the freedom to learn, grow and choose her future.

10/07/2026

How can AI and technology support more inclusive education?

A report, from the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education explores how AI, ICT and assistive technologies can support the inclusion of children with diverse learning needs.

Drawing on international case studies and expert insights, the report highlights innovative approaches such as student-led tool selection, robotics-assisted social learning and peer-supported augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).

It also examines persistent barriers, including fragmented policies, limited teacher capacity and inequitable access to digital and assistive technologies.

The takeaway is clear: technology is only part of the solution. Creating genuinely inclusive education requires the policies, skills, support and systems needed to ensure that technology works for children with diverse needs.

Read the report:
https://iite.unesco.org/publications/report-on-the-use-of-ai-and-ict-to-support-the-inclusion-of-children-with-autism-adhd-and-learning-disabilities/

10/07/2026

🎉 Congratulations, Professor Mark Tomlinson!

Early Childhood Development Action Network - ECDAN warmly congratulates Mark Tomlinson, a member of ECDAN’s Executive Leadership Council and Technical Advisory Group, on receiving the René Spitz Award from the World Association for Infant Mental Health (WAIMH).

The René Spitz Award is a prestigious lifetime achievement honor recognizing significant contributions to clinical or experimental research in the interdisciplinary field of infant mental health.

This recognition celebrates Mark’s longstanding contributions to advancing our understanding of infant and child development, mental health, and the importance of nurturing care in the earliest years.

We are proud to have Mark’s expertise and leadership as part of the ECDAN network, and grateful for the knowledge and perspective he brings to our collective efforts to advance early childhood development globally.

Congratulations, Mark, on this well-deserved recognition! 👏

10/06/2026

What can 50 years of research tell us about the importance of early life?

Join a seminar exploring the Cuban National Child Cohort Study, which has followed 4,299 people born in Cuba in March 1973 from birth through childhood and adolescence, with participants now being reassessed at around 50 years of age.

Dr. Yeneir Vera Fernández will share the history and significance of this unique study, emerging findings on cardiovascular, metabolic, cognitive and mental health, and what the cohort can teach us about how early-life factors influence health across the life course.

📅 Monday, October 19
⏰ 8:00 EDT | 13:00 BST | 14:00 SAST | 17:30 IST | 20:00 CST**

🔗 Join via Zoom: Join the seminar https://mshri.zoom.us/j/84148066392?pwd=9ctJD1aGeyqRMXPDCox0bFGaHTbrac.1

Meeting ID: 841 4806 6392
Passcode: 339841

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

10/06/2026

Looking back at : building momentum for the early years.

From early learning and childcare to financing and stronger systems, the 81st United Nations General Assembly created important opportunities to advance the early years agenda.

Early Childhood Development Action Network - ECDAN was pleased to collaborate with partners across key discussions, including the Education House convening, the Global Costing Taskforce for Education and ECCE, the Global Roundtable on Early Childhood Financing with Salzburg Global, and the planning workshop led by ECDAN, Theirworld and UNICEF towards the first-ever Global Early Years Finance Summit in London in June 2027.

Across these conversations, one message was clear: the early years must be central to education, childcare, financing and human development.

The momentum is growing. Now, the focus must be on translating commitments into stronger systems, sustainable financing and action for young children and families.

The journey to 2027 has begun. Let’s keep building together.

10/05/2026

Standing with teachers starts early.

On , we join UNESCO and partners in recognising teachers and reflecting on what it takes to strengthen the teaching profession.

For the Early Childhood Development Action Network - ECDAN, that conversation must include the early childhood workforce. Early childhood educators help children build the foundations for lifelong learning, yet many remain under-resourced and under-recognised.

6 million more pre-primary educators are needed in low- and lower-middle-income countries by 2030.

An estimated US$21 billion annual financing gap exists to meet national targets for at least one year of pre-primary education.

In low-income countries, only 57% of pre-primary teachers have the necessary training.

What would it take to strengthen the early childhood workforce? Better pay and working conditions, more professional development, stronger policies and systems, or increased investment?

At ECDAN, we believe financing the early years must include investing in the people who make quality early childhood care and education possible.

Explore the evidence: https://www.unicef.org/reports/global-report-early-childhood-care-and-education-right-strong-foundation

What do you think should be the biggest priority? 👇🏽

At ECDAN, we believe that financing the early years must include investing in the people who make quality early childhood care and education possible.

As conversations on financing for the early years continue, teachers and early childhood educators must be at the center of the investment conversation.

Because standing with teachers is not only about recognizing their contribution.

It is about giving them the resources, support and conditions to shape children’s futures.

Explore the evidence to learn more about the challenges and priorities for strengthening early childhood care and education. https://www.unicef.org/reports/global-report-early-childhood-care-and-education-right-strong-foundation

The right to a strong foundation