The Progress of Nations 2000

"1" 11 Ej P 11 () C"I 11 lli ri" I

The time to sow
By Carol Bellamy

Poverty continues to enslave huge populations,
denying 1.2 billion people - 600 million of them
children aged one to five years - good health
and productive lives. To change this painful situation, the world needs to begin with children,
assuring every one of the 130 million born each
year the best possible start in life.

e are finally
understan(ling
how enorimous
ir childre(n's
)prlonlise isfromil
the Ill o i1ent of )birth, how wellprepared infants are to survive,
I hrive and learnii.
They dependl on us aduilts;
t hey b)eguile, 'charm and demalindl
tihat we gived item the tine, lnurturing and attention they seem
i) know that they lneed. WX/hen
they receive tihe essentials, they
reward us all alonlig the way, fr)om
their very first smile into the
'next generation.
Thile buillinig locks are fairly
iiiodest: (hildren need health
care, sounl nutrition (with an eiilphliasis on )reastfeeding), a safe
anil hygienic en'vironmenilt ali
playful aidl lovilng interaction.
This is the inimnunm; it is neit her extravagant nor exorblitanit.
Yet from this simliple foundation,
tlhey' go oni to astound us with
their achievemients, mastering
language, arts sciences aul tile
complexities of life.

Only recenltly have we learned,
however, how wasteful of' their
talents we canl be.
An excitinig and expanding
body of knowledge shows how
the early years of life are absolutely vital, laying the ground
for the child's survival, growth,
health andi later acconplishments.
During this time, the neural network in the b)rain develops, depiending largely on the stiimulation
and care the child receives.
Before a healthy child reaches
the age of two and a half, millions of neural links have been
forged, conniections ulipon which
physical, mental and cognitive
developmenit largely dlepienld.
Heart of developmIent
We squander our chihdren's innate capacities and stint their
care in those critical early years
at grave expense. In violating
children's rights by denying themn
the essentials they needi and
deserve, we harm tlhemi anil ourselves, permitting and encouraging the seeds of poverty,

alienation, hatred andl despair
to take root.
Effective early care for children lies at the very heart of
human development. For tihoise
most p)ersuaded by economic
arguments, investments ii services and support for children in
the early years have an estimated
return as high as 7 to 1. With 130
million inifants born each year,
this presents an enormous opportunity for social development
that few leaders would want to
ignore and an investment that
few can afford to miss. Especially
since it holds out the b)est prormise we have for relieving poverty,
which is now coile(l so nmuich
more tightly aroundll so many,
and for changing the longentrenched patterns of gender
discriniination that violate girls'
and womllen's rights ali choke
social progress.
Both poverty and gender dliscrimination replicate themselves
from generation to generation.
By ensuring childrenl good early
care, b)ase(d on gender equity, we
take vital and giant steps in
breaking these cycles of" tiscriininatiol anid deprivation anid unleashing new creative )powers.
What does effective early childhood care entail for the vast majority of the world's estimated
1 billion children between the
ages (of zero and eight years? It
recognizes the interaction among
health, nutrition andi the emotional
well-being of childreni and their primary caregivers. To ('are for a child

hy neeessitv means being concerned
about the conditions a woman faces
at home and in societyv at large. For
in countries and cu( iltures where
women 's voices are nuffled and
Poverty andli discriination limit
their acc('ess to resolires and services, where they have rare respite
from wearying rouii(ls o(f work,
iminimal legal pirotetion and l)ow\
status, optinmal child development
is iiI)possilble. Where menl have'
little or no role in bringing upi
small children, vet lack respe('ct
fo()r the women who are the (caregivers, the stage is set for ullnderachievemient vby all blut a handful
(of (chilldren.
Effective early (care means homes
and an enivirotiinenti whlere childreni are proteclted'l against diseas'e, where there is access to (clean
driniking water andll a(leqIuate
nourishment; wher'e womillen ('all
start exclusively breastfeedilig
their children. It also mieans that
there is time andi space for iinfaits to grow andll learn through
play and explo)ratioln and to
ldevel)op) langulilage' lthroughi interaction with thllei'rs.
For all these reasonlls, effective
early care has to r eah beyovnd tlhe'
home into tile livil)ronlenlt amii
('ultulre surrouliniilg the ilnnit'edliate familv.
As mllelmbers ()f al n extemil'
fatnilyvwith a vital stake in humiiain
dlevelopinellt, c'olInliiuniitvy andil religious leadlers, health and nutritioni workers, tealchelrs, eniploy ers
andl entire nations have an ilnterest inl and a responsibilitv foir the

Carol Belamy is the Executive Director of UNICEF.

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