The Dominican Republic will expand coverage of early childhood education with support from the IDB

A loan of $200 millionwill help improve access to early childhood development services and will benefit more than 100,000 children under 5 years old

The Dominican Republic will expand the provision of early childhood development services among the country’s poorest populations with a loan of $200 million from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The project will support the expansion of comprehensive early childhood services. It also will strengthen INAIPI, the National Institute for Comprehensive Early Childhood Care, management capabilities.

With this effort, the country will seek to improve the low rates of access to early childhood services and address the inequity created by the limited offer of such services by the public sector. Data for 2016 show that only 18% of children under the age of 5 are covered by child-care services nationwide. Moreover, 85 percent of the children under 5 who do receive early childhood services do so in private centers, which involve a cost for families and raise a major access barrier for the poorest.

The IDB project will finance early childhood services that will include: early stimulation for children from 0 to 2 years of age; early education for children from 3 to 5 years of age; nutrition monitoring and promotion for children; and a training program for parents on good child-rearing practices. By targeting children in vulnerable areas, the project aims to guarantee that all students have access to quality early childhood education that will enhance the country’s human capital.

The IDB loan is for a 25-year term, with a 5-year grace period, and a LIBOR-based interest rate.