- The ECD Fund demonstrated that innovation and strategic partnerships can transform early childhood development, benefiting more than 700,000 children and strengthening families and centers in 10 countries.
- The projects generated valuable evidence and new forms of collaboration, highlighting the importance of early intervention, co-creation, the use of technology, and hybrid delivery models to reach vulnerable populations.
- Although the Fund has concluded its operations, its legacy continues through the Community of Practice and the Child Development Hub, fostering regional exchange and the continuous improvement of early childhood policies and services.
What happens when a group of partners comes together to ensure that all children in Latin America and the Caribbean have access to quality early childhood development (ECD) services?
The answer lies in the results of the Early Childhood Development Innovation Fund (ECD Fund), an alliance that since 2017 has mobilized resources from the IDB and the FEMSA, Van Leer, Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal, and Porticus Foundations to design, implement, and evaluate innovative solutions to improve the lives of children ages 0 to 5 in the most disadvantaged contexts of the region.
The ECD Fund was created to drive investments in early childhood development with a focus on innovation, aiming to maximize impact and reach as many children as possible. Why? Because public policies focused on early childhood, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable populations, have lasting effects on learning, well-being, and development throughout life.
However, in Latin America and the Caribbean, millions of children still lack the essential resources needed for full development. Poverty, along with insufficient nutrition, a lack of quality care services, and limited stimulating environments, continues to prevent many from reaching their full potential.
The Fund’s innovative approach placed people at the center, generated evidence to improve services, and fostered new forms of collaboration among governments, civil society, the private sector, and academia.
Eight years after its creation, the ECD Fund concludes its operational activities, but it leaves an unprecedented legacy in the region. This article highlights the main achievements and lessons learned from this alliance for young children.
The ECD Fund financed 23 projects in 10 countries across the region, benefiting more than 700,000 children; 300,000 mothers, fathers, and caregivers; and 5,000 early childhood care centers. The projects improved the quality of center-based programs, strengthened work with families, and generated quantitative and qualitative evidence to guide design and scale-up.
Those of us who had the privilege of shaping and monitoring the projects witnessed their impact firsthand: caregivers trained with practical tools to better stimulate and support children; mothers, fathers, and grandparents receiving guidance for sensitive and nurturing caregiving; and children discovering new ways to learn and play, whether in their centers or through messages sent to their families during critical moments such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Decision-makers were also encouraged to test technology as an ally for delivering services online or through hybrid formats.
The implementation and evaluation of these 23 projects generated valuable lessons to improve services for children and their families in the region, including:
- Early intervention makes a difference. Even during pregnancy, benefits were observed in mothers’ well-being, fathers’ shared responsibilities, and child survival.
- Hybrid and remote modalities expand reach. They are especially useful in hard-to-reach areas or emergency settings, though adaptations are needed when working with highly vulnerable families.
- Diagnostics and censuses are essential. They help design relevant solutions for specific populations or groups.
- Co-creation strengthens relevance and ownership. Working with communities and local teams improves results.
- Implementation matters as much as design. Understanding mechanisms and processes was critical to achieving sustainable results.
Although the ECD Fund has completed its project financing, knowledge dissemination and regional exchange continue through two initiatives:
- The Early Childhood Development Community of Practice, with more than 200 members from the public, private, academic, and nonprofit sectors.
- The Early Childhood Development Hub, a web platform with more than two thousand resources on early childhood development that facilitates access to knowledge generated in the region.
The closing of the ECD Fund is not an end, but an invitation – an invitation to continue generating evidence, strengthening partnerships, and sustaining and scaling what has been learned so that every child has the opportunities they need from the very start of life.
Learn more about the impact of this alliance: Innovating Tomorrow: The Achievements of the Early Childhood Development Innovation Fund in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Palabras clave:
Child Development