Accelerating progress on early childhood development for children under 5 years with disabilities by 2030

The Global Research on Developmental Disabilities Collaborators, (2022) Accelerating progress on early childhood development for children under 5 years with disabilities by 2030. Lancet Global Health, 10(3), e438-e444. (doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(21)00488-5) (PMID:35038406)

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Abstract

The likelihood of a newborn child dying before their fifth birthday (under-5 mortality rate) is universally acknowledged as a reflection of the social, economic, health, and environmental conditions in which children (and the rest of society) live, but little is known about the likelihood of a newborn child having a lifelong disability before their fifth birthday if he or she survives. Available data show that globally the likelihood of a child having a disability before their fifth birthday was ten times higher than the likelihood of dying (377·2 vs 38·2 per 1000 livebirths) in 2019. However, disability funding declined by 11·4% between 2007 and 2016, and only 2% of the estimated US$79·1 billion invested in early childhood development during this period was spent on disabilities. This funding pattern has not improved since 2016. This paper highlights the urgent need to prioritise early childhood development for the beneficiaries of global child survival initiatives who have lifelong disabilities, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, as envisioned by the Sustainable Development Goals agenda. This endeavour would entail disability-focused programming and monitoring approaches, economic analysis of interventions services, and substantial funding to redress the present inequalities among this cohort of children by 2030.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:Paul Lynch is a member of the Global Research on Developmental Disabilities Collaborators.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Lynch, Dr Paul
Authors: The Global Research on Developmental Disabilities Collaborators,
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Education
College of Social Sciences > School of Education > Culture, Literacies, Inclusion & Pedagogy
Journal Name:Lancet Global Health
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:2214-109X
ISSN (Online):2214-109X
Published Online:14 January 2022
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2021 The Authors
First Published:First published in Lancet Global Health 10(3): e438-e444
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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