Abstract
Nurturing care framework for early childhood development (ECD) focuses on five essential aspects of the holistic development of a child, which are interrelated and inseparable. This multidimensional approach to child development is dependent on contributions from multiple sectors, requiring the ‘whole of government’ approach. In India, the lack of a single multisectoral framework for ECD, narrow accountability to sector-specific outcomes, overlap** responsibilities of frontline workers, lack of leadership for coordination, and limited supervisory mechanisms result in fragmented service delivery. In recent years, there is high-level political commitment to intersectoral action, which promote holistic health. Better results and developmental outcomes are possible with different sectors working closely by converging their resources under the Sustainable Development Goals strategic action plans, POSHAN Abhiyaan, and the Aspirational districts program. Leveraging opportunities for intersectoral action requires a deliberate and consistent effort towards alignment of goals, favorable conditions of partnerships, leadership and governance, and capacity at every level.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
World Health Organisation. Improving Early Childhood Development: WHO Guideline, 2020. Accessed January 8, 2021. Available from:https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/97892400020986
World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. Multisectoral and intersectoral action for improved health and well-being for all: map** of the WHO European Region. 2018. Accessed May 25, 2021. Available from: https://www.childrenandaids.org/sites/default/files/2018-11/Multisectoral%20and%20intersectoral%20action%20for%20improved%20health%20and%20well-being%20for%20all%20%20Map**%20of%20the%20WHO%20European%20Region.pdf
Milman HM, Castillo CA, Sansotta AT, et al. Scaling up an early childhood development programme through a national multisectoral approach to social protection: Lessons from Chile Crece Contigo. BMJ. 2018;363:k4513.
Bennett S, Glandon D, Rasanathan K. Governing multisectoral action for health in low-income and middle- income countries: Unpacking the problem and rising to the challenge. BMJ Glob Health. 2018;3:e000880.
Woodhead M, Featherstone I, Bolton L, Robertson P. Early Child-hood development: Delivering inter-sectoral policies, programmes and services in low-resource settings. Open Research Online (ORO) 2014. Accessed January 6, 2021.Available from: http://oro.open.ac.uk/41552/
Rentzou K, Ionescu M, Zimmerli P, Boca C. Inter-sectoral coordination in early childhood systems: the Primokiz approach. Early Childhood Matters 2019. Accessed May 24, 2021. Available from: https://earlychildhoodmatters.online/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ECM128-2019_Early-Childhood-Matters.pdf
WHO, UNICEF, World Bank Group. Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development: A framework for hel** children survive and thrive to transform health and human potential; 2018. Accessed January 13, 2021. Available from: https://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/child/nurturing-care-framework/en/
Kim SS, Avula R, Ved R, et al. Understanding the role of inter-sectoral convergence in the delivery of essential maternal and child nutrition interventions in Odisha, India: A qualitative study. BMC Public Health. 2017;17:161.
UNICEF. Annual Report Ecuador; 2016. Accessed on January 4, 2021. Available from: https://www.unicef.org/about/annualreport/files/Ecuador_2016_COAR.pdf
World Health Organisation. Coordinated, intersectoral action to improve public health. Accessed May 24, 2021. Available from: https://www.who.int/healthsystems/topics/health-law/chapter6.pdf
Acknowledgements
Dr Rajesh Mehta, Regional Advisor, WHO office for South East Asia region, for his valuable suggestions for conceptualizing this paper and editing the manuscript. Dr Neena Raina, Senior Advisor, MCA, WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia for her guidance and advise.
Funding
Funding: None
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Contributors: DA: developed the detailed outline of the manuscript and drafted the manuscript, provided technical guidance on the content and reviewed the manuscript; BP: conducted desk review and interviews, developed the detailed outline and draft of the manuscript, and revised the manuscript; DK: contributed to manuscript writing and revision; PC: reviewed the manuscript critically. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interest: None stated.
Additional information
Note: DA and PC are staff members of the World Health Organization. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this paper and they do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy or views of the World Health Organization.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Agrawal, D., Patil, B., Kapoor, D. et al. Intersectoral Action for Early Childhood Development in India: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward. Indian Pediatr 58 (Suppl 1), 28–31 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-021-2352-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-021-2352-x