Childhood Development – The Target Areas

What is the issue?

Our policy makers need to recognize that investing in our children is indispensible for reaching our full potential.

What is the case for investing in childhood development?

• While only 85 out of every 100 children born would live to age five in 1980s, currently the number stands at 96.
• Improved child survival has also helped in reducing fertility rates, as people do not have to compensate for deaths by having more children.
• But mere survival is not enough as cognitively development, illnesses free life and good education are critical in realising one’s full potential.
• Countries that make early investments in their children are more likely to have the workforce to support economic growth over the decades.
• All upper-middle income countries like “South Korea, Singapore & Thailand” have achieved sustained growth by investing in child development.
• These include vaccination, good nutrition for mother and child, clean water and sanitation, and protection from vector-borne infectious diseases.

How important is vaccination & nutrition?

• Vaccines are the most cost effective, life-saving interventions of all times.
• It holds particular significance in child development and is usually administered when the rate of brain development is at its peak.  
• On the nutrition front, protein rich supplements before 24 months of age were found to increase overall cognitive skills significantly and male wages by 46%.
• Better nourished & healthy children tend to stay longer in schools.
• As research across countries show that merely being literate raises earnings by 10%, investments in vaccines & nutrition is sure to have economic spill over.  

What lies ahead?

• The number of children born in India each year is greater than those born in any country at any point in human history.
• If we give them the right start by providing a childhood free of diseases and proper nutrition, we have the opportunity to create a strong & powerful nation.
• The cost of failure would also be high, as large number of people will be condemned to poverty & lack of livelihood.
• This would be accompanied by growth rates that will eventually drop back to under 4% as Indian children fail to become internationally competitive.

Source: The Hindu