Resources

In order to understand the influence of the pandemic on young children (aged six and under) and their caregivers, a consortium of partners commissioned this study to learn from impacts and actions taken in response to Early Childhood Development (ECD) services during Pandemic. The objective was to focus particularly on the disruptions related to the nurturing care components of early childhood development including health, nutrition, early learning, and responsive caregiving of young children, and on the well-being of their caregivers as well as frontline workers. Between December 2020 and February 2021, this study was conducted using qualitative interviews and quantitative data from a survey that covered 10,112 primary/secondary caregivers and 2,916 frontline workers across 11 states1. While the study was designed to cover households across the
socio-economic spectrum, we had to rely on telephonic rather than in-person interviews. The findings have been summarised into sub-sections that cover each of the dimensions in the Nurturing Care Framework to show the influences of the pandemic on the lives of children, their caregivers and frontline workers (ASHAs,
Anganwadi Workers, and Village Health Nurses). The analysis presented in this report has been further layered with rural-urban and state-level differences.

The findings from the study highlight several key lessons and recommendations to improve Early Childhood Development services. 

• Recognize and celebrate frontline workers' efforts by acknowledging their contributions not just for COVID but more generally for the tremendous efforts they make for the health and wellbeing of the entire community. In-depth interviews showed that this was an effective tactic to motivate workers and would likely contribute to longer-term efforts to improve social capital.
• Where possible, rationalize roles and responsibilities of frontline workers to enable better prioritization of service delivery. Frontline workers have many responsibilities across health, nutrition, education, and caregiving. Supporting them in prioritizing efforts and having clearly delineated responsibilities can enable them to focus on core tasks, while also keeping their overall work hours under control4.
• Closely track reopening of AWCs and intervene to encourage attendance where needed. At the time of our study, nearly half of parents were not ready to send their young children back to school or AWCs. As states are reopening these facilities, it will be important to keep an eye on whether children are actually returning or not. Where needed, community level drives can help ensure that children are attending AWCs.
• Make efforts to sustain the involvement of fathers in their children’s lives post pandemic. Our findings suggest that fathers are spending an increasing amount of time with their children because of the crisis. These interactions are particularly influential during the first three years of life, when brain growth is most rapid in children6. We should leverage this opportunity to encourage sustained interaction evidence-based program development, and targeted advocacy, such as the MenCare Program.
• Generate evidence to understand the impact of the pandemic on child-level outcomes. While various articles and reports have discussed the pandemic’s potential impact on children’s learning and development, it may be worthwhile to conduct further research to generate evidence around the actual impact on children directly. This will enable policymakers to take specific actions to address any longer-term issues.

• Surface and share good practices. Sharing of good practices can be helpful for states to take informed decisions and implement strategies to improve the quality of ECD programs. Additional investment is needed to document and more deeply understand why, for whom, and in what context, certain interventions are working well.

To read the full study, please click the linked file.