Photo by Shubhendu Mohanty on Unsplash
How can funding and resources align with policy and practice to support integrated early childhood systems rather than reinforce fragmentation? This was the guiding question for one of the workshops at the recent ISSA conference on Integrated Early Childhood Systems for Every Child’s Wellbeing. My framing remarks addressed this question, drawing on recent analytical work on financing for UNESCO and my Results for Development (R4D) experience working with governments in Africa on primary health care for optimal child development.
I focused on three key shifts:
· Coordinating budgets
· Tracking spending
· Aligning funding
1. From siloed to coordinated budgeting
What we see
Currently, budgets for young children are siloed by sector and program. Sectors compete for funds and rarely coordinate during the budget process, leading to gaps and fragmentation. Even within one sector, such as health, it can be hard to coordinate across “verticals” like immunization, nutrition, and malaria prevention. Many countries have multi-sectoral early childhood plans, but they are often not costed or funded.
What we want to see
This first shift toward coordinated budgeting for young children requires multi-sectoral policies that include costed implementation plans, and a budgeting mechanism that fits each country's institutional setup. Potential models include a dedicated ministry leading (Chile, Peru), an inter-ministerial body leading (Colombia), or a single ministry loosely coordinating (Indonesia, Malawi).
Example: Chile Crece Contigo is an internationally recognized example of an integrated early childhood system. A council of ministers plans and budgets jointly. The Ministry of Social Development anchors the system and transfers funds under agreements that require reporting on specific indicators. Municipalities report spending monthly. Peru goes a step further by linking ministries’ budgets to shared results for young children.
2. From invisible to trackable, equitable spending
What we see
Spending on young children is buried in health, education and social protection budgets, so it can't be tracked nationally. Age groups are sometimes lumped together, such as pre-primary with primary education. This lack of transparency makes it difficult for civil society to hold governments accountable. Globally, about one in four countries has reported no pre-primary spending data to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics in over a decade, and where data do exist, they capture only part of the early childhood picture.
What we want to see
The second shift is toward trackable, equitable spending. Budget tagging makes spending on young children visible. Tools such as public expenditure reviews show how well money is spent, while tracking surveys show whether the funding reaches its intended destination. We also need disaggregated data to show whether resources reach the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children and families. Transfers from national to local governments should promote equitable redistribution.
Example: In Kenya, UNICEF supported the development of a budget brief that analyzed allocations to young children across sectors, and a tracking survey to follow the money. The survey found that more than half of local preschool units waited over six months for funds. Meanwhile, the richest tenth of households receives about three times the share of early childhood education spending as the poorest tenth. However, these tools are only as powerful as the people who use them. Civil society has a central role in holding governments accountable for spending well on young children.
3. From fragmented funding to aligned funding
What we see
Although there has been progress in donor coordination for young children, far too often donor priorities and earmarks, rather than government needs and priorities, shape what gets funded. In addition, when funding flows outside government, to NGOs and other implementers, governments lack a full view of resources. Pilot initiatives can demonstrate promising approaches, but they are hard to plan around, scale, or sustain.
What we want to see
The third shift is toward aligned funding, where resources are coordinated with national plans and flow through government budgets. Philanthropy catalyzes change through pooled funds with other donors and through co-financing with government.
Example: When leaders in Maputo Province, Mozambique, grew frustrated with sectors and partners working out of step, they developed a provincial multi-sectoral early childhood plan through broad consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. Because they felt ownership of the plan, they became more proactive in seeking funding and partnerships.
Questions to keep in mind
I left workshop participants with three questions to consider in funding, designing, or monitoring early childhood systems:
Coordinated budgeting: Do the ministries serving young children plan and budget together, or separately?
Trackable spending: Do we know what this policy or program costs, who it reaches, and what difference the financing approach makes for access, quality and equity?
Aligned funding: Does this funding flow through government budgets and plans, or alongside them?
Underpinning all these technical fixes must be a shared vision of seamless support for children and families, and the financing to match.
