World Bank Document

• Stimulate synthesis of research and evaluation of ECD pro-
  grams, including cost-benefit analyses—to better inform policy-
  makers about the returns on these programs


• Encourage adoption of innovative approaches to overcome key
  implementation issues—such as funding—in taking ECD pro-
  grams to scale.

In the past year, the expanding horizon for ECD included a num-
ber of major events around the globe.

In Brazil

A National Conference. Brazil convened a national conference on

Primeira Infância Melhor [Better Early Child Development], in

Porto Alegre, Brazil, in March 2006. The conference featured pre-

sentations on the economic argument for ECD programs and the

neuroscience link between early child development and human

development.

Brazil’s Millennium Fund for Early Childhood.The government lever-

aged 10 major corporations to join, and thereby expand, Brazil’s

Millennium Fund for Early Childhood in two Brazilian states—Rio

Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. This initiative was partly sup-

ported for 2 years by seed funds from the World Bank’s Develop-

ment Grant Facility.

In China

International Conferences—Public Awareness.In April 2006, two inter-

national conferences in China featured early child development.

The Second International Conference on Women and Children’s

Health, held in Beijing, stimulated more than 110 articles in the me-

dia (reaching more than 75 million people), 45 published reports,

almost 60 postings on the Internet, and television and radio cover-

age (reaching 750 million and 25 million people, respectively). The

International Symposium for Maternal and Child Health, held in

Shanghai, was linked via satellite to six other Chinese cities.

Approximately 750 scientists, researchers, educators, and ad-

ministrators attended the Beijing conference, and approximately

The ECD Agenda: Closing the Gap 7