Early Childhood Development: A Critical Investment

This free online course is designed for policymakers and decision-makers working across sectors related to Early Childhood Development (ECD), including health and nutrition, education, child protection, agriculture and food security, WASH, and emergency preparedness.

The course provides a comprehensive overview of the scientific, economic, and social evidence underpinning investment in early childhood development. It explores the Nurturing Care Framework and examines how effective ECD policies and programmes can improve outcomes for children, families, and societies. Participants will engage with global research, case studies, and policy examples to understand how ECD can be integrated across sectors and how evidence can inform stronger national and organisational strategies.

The course draws on content from the Nurturing Care Framework, the Science of Early Child Development, and the Beginning of Life film. The course duration is 5 hours. The course is also available in Khmer, Lao, and Mongolian.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Define Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Nurturing Care
• Summarise the scientific and economic evidence for investing in ECD
• Recognise the components of Nurturing Care in ECD and ECD policymaking
• Select five essential strategies for supporting Nurturing Care
• Identify how ECD can be integrated into broader policy frameworks, such as health, education, and social services
• Reflect on local ECD approaches, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, and propose actionable strategies for improving ECD programmes in communities

After completing this course, participants will be able to:

• Apply scientific and economic evidence to support investment in Early Childhood Development
• Integrate the principles of Nurturing Care into policy, planning, and programme design
• Assess how ECD policies and programmes can be strengthened through cross-sector collaboration
• Identify priority strategies to improve nurturing care and child development outcomes
• Analyse the role of ECD within broader systems, including health, education, and social protection
• Evaluate existing ECD approaches and identify opportunities for improvement within local contexts
• Contribute to evidence-informed decision-making to strengthen ECD policies and investments

This video course was produced as part of the Aga Khan Foundation’s Early Childhood Development programme.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License. To view a copy of this license, go here.