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Beyond Survival: The Case for Investing in Young Children Globally

The National Academy of Medicine published Beyond Survival: The Case for Investing in Young Children Globally. The paper argues that investing in young children globally is a primary means of achieving sustainable human, social, and economic development, all of which are vital to ensuring international peace and security.

In the paper, 31 experts, including a number of CPC faculty affiliates, argue that current international assistance for children in developing countries focuses too much on single categories of vulnerability rather than young children’s holistic well-being. The co-authors note that without a proactive effort to integrate programs for young children, harmonize implementation, and synchronize the measurement of results, program and outcome siloes are created, and an important opportunity to maximize results for children is lost. Young children’s needs and risks are multidimensional. Tackling one issue at a time, divorced from a more complex reality, is ultimately a disservice to time- and resource-strapped vulnerable families. Young children require integrated support, including health, nutrition, education, care, and protection. The science explains why. By turning attention and resources toward coordinated investments and delivery platforms, it is possible to close the gap between what is known and what is done to support young children globally.

The paper is a call to action, informed by science from multiple disciplines. We hope it will help to close the gap between what is known and what is done to support the development of children globally and, in turn, sustainable progress for communities and nations.

The paper was facilitated by the CPC Learning Network at Columbia University, and we are proud to have been involved. The initial concept paper resonated with members of the National Academy of Medicine’s Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally. The result is a discussion paper written and endorsed by leading academics and thought leaders from multiple disciplines – a joint statement for policy change.

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Year of Publication: 2016

Economic Empowerment as a Health Care Intervention Among Orphaned Children in Rural Uganda

This study evaluated an economic empowerment intervention to reduce HIV risks among orphaned children in Uganda. Children (n=97) were randomly assigned to receive an economic intervention or to a control arm. Data obtained at baseline and 12-month follow-up revealed differences on HIV prevention attitudes, educational plans, and child- caregiver relationship for intervention arm children relative to control children. Findings lend support to use of economic empowerment interventions for HIV risk reduction among orphaned children.

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Asset Ownership and Health and Mental Health Functioning Among AIDS-Orphaned Adolescents: Findings From a Randomized Clinical Trial in Rural Uganda

This article, published in Social Science and Medicine, presents findings from an economic empowerment intervention designed to promote life options, health and mental health functioning among AIDS-orphaned adolescents in rural Uganda. The study measured mental health functioning using a standardized measure for self-esteem and measured overall health using a self-rated health measure. Data obtained at the 10-month follow-up revealed significant positive effects of the economic empowerment intervention on adolescents’ self-rated health and mental health functioning. Additionally, health and mental health functioning were found to be positively associated with one another.

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Year of Publication: 2009