DELIVERING ECED IN EMERGENCIES EVIDENCE HUB
Evidence Hub on Delivering Early Childhood Education and Development (ECED) in Emergency Contexts. GSF aims to codify a set of practitioner-focused resources and develop them into repositories to support critical actors to effectively deliver and scale ECED in emergencies
Context
Emergencies are becoming frequent and young children are at the forefront of the crises. More than 10 million infants and young children are caught in crisis and displacement. They lack the necessary support to rebuild resilience and reach their full potential.
Quality and integrated Early Childhood Education and Development (ECED) can help mitigate the harmful effects of trauma and displacement. However, grassroot organisations, that are the first point of contacts with children and caregivers find it challenging to effectively deliver ECED services. Some articulated gaps are (a) scarce evidence on promising locally led models, (b) shortage of user-friendly tools and resources suited for high-pressure and time-constraint environments, and (c) limited focus in existing resources with respect to strengthening practice and addressing context-based requirements.
GSF aims to launch an Evidence Hub to provide practical resources to support grassroot organisations working in emergencies improve their ECED services.
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Toolkit for ECD Programming in Emergencies
GSF conducted a pilot in Waliso, Ethiopia, with Children in Crossfire and Busara Center to develop a user-friendly Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) toolkit for dual-generational programming focused on early childhood development in emergency situations.
Dual-generational programmes are those that simultaneously and intentionally address the needs of both children and their caregivers. The approach is essential in emergencies as the well-being of caregivers and children becomes deeply interlinked in such destablising settings. A strong MEL system is the backbone of this programming, however there is an absence of appropriate measurement tools and guidance. Through our research, we have attempted to bridge this gap.
Other Resources
Check out our briefs on childcare programmes in refugee settings here, and psycho-social support for caregivers in humanitarian contexts here.
Read here about our panel presentation at the East Africa Regional Early Childhood Conference, in collaboration with our members and partners, where we highlighted innovations in dual-generational programming for refugees and explored future research and policy opportunities to scale this approach.
Stay tuned for the emerging insights from our recent community of practice on dual-generational programming in protracted emergency contexts.