Peru to Enhance Early Childhood Development with IDB Support

A plan to bolster the National Cuna Más Program will benefit over 320,000 children under age 36 months.

WASHINGTON — The Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $50 million loan to boost the quality of early childhood development services for children younger than 36 months living in impoverished households in Peru.

The initiative will support efforts to strengthen the National Cuna Más Program by improving its governance, information systems and technological infrastructure, and staff training to ensure its operational capacity and the quality of its services.

The program will also improve the infrastructure of the Comprehensive Child Care Centers, making them more energy-efficient and climate-resilient. It will build 25 new centers and renovate another 28 with bioclimatic architecture, efficient water-use standards, and materials with low environmental impacts.

These measures will allow Peru to offer high-quality and sustainable early childhood development services.

The program will directly benefit over 320,000 children under 36 months of age in 522 urban municipalities and 1,240 rural or remote municipalities. Of these beneficiaries, 65,371 speak or are learning an Indigenous language as their native language. The program will also benefit the staff of the National Cuna Más Program, as well as families and caretakers.

The operation aligns with the Amazonia Forever program, particularly its pillar of sustainable infrastructure and better service quality for populations in the Amazon region. It takes cultural relevance into account and engages with community stakeholders.

The IDB loan has a 17-year repayment term, a 6.5-year grace period, and an interest rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR).