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Supporting Family and Community Investments in Young Children Globally Summary of a Joint Workshop by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences (2016) / Chapter Skim
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2 Defining Family and Community Investments in Context
Pages 7-12

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From page 7...
... The state and art of today's science dictate how families and communities act on this responsibility, and Habte drew on examples from Ethiopia and sub-Saharan Africa to illustrate his point. Despite traditions that support children through their development, morbidity and mortality remain high among children in Ethiopia and in several parts of Africa, as do inadequate educational facilities and widespread poverty exacerbated by poor living conditions.
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From page 8...
... Coutinho stressed that for children to successfully navigate a progression from surviving to thriving and finally, transforming, they need to experience the ability to love and to be loved, boast adequate self-esteem, and explore curiosity about all things, yet also be supported by access to education, health, and social services. Coutinho pointed out that if families and communities are going to function effectively the global community and national and local governments need to create the policies and resources to allow families and communities to invest in their children, with a particular focus on peace and stability, food and nutrition, health, education, social protection services, safe water, sanitation, environmental hygiene, and energy, among others.
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From page 9...
... Coutinho reminded workshop participants that in the African context, no single approach is necessarily transferable, but there are some commonalities. He stated that critically important across all communities is the empowerment that derives from top-down leadership when the global community and national governments support family and community investments in their children.
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From page 10...
... To do so, Coutinho argued, requires strong and supportive nations placing the onus on individual countries to be part of a global village in order to thrive. SOCIAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE HOW FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES INVEST IN YOUNG CHILDREN Gillian Mellsop, Ethiopia Country Representative for UNICEF, affirmed that while investing in young children is one of the most effective and preventative interventions with great impact on the many challenges that thwart family and community development, early childhood development programs are among the most underfunded globally (UNESCO, 2007)
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From page 11...
... , despite the country's unprecedented progress in preprimary education in the past decade. If more than half of the children in this age bracket were to attend preprimary education in Ethiopia, where they would be given the opportunity to develop their full developmental capacity when they reach child-bearing age, Mellsop noted these benefits could be passed on to their children.
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Key Terms

  • childhood development
  • global community
  • support children
  • social protection
  • cultural factors

  • federal democratic
  • increasingly active
  • communities invest
  • preprimary education
  • coutinho stressed

  • active role
  • democratic republic
  • mellsop stated
  • childhood care
  • children vary

  • poverty action
  • integrated national
  • defining social
  • spark neural
  • role governments

  • children gillian
  • attend preprimary
  • thwart family
  • primary school
  • governments support

  • healthy interactions
  • private schools
  • community readiness
  • coutinho argued
  • poor living


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