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In 2019, 135 million people in 55 countries were in food crises or worse, and 2 billion people did not have regular access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. COVID-19 has exacerbated these hardships and may result in an additional 121 million people facing acute food insecurity by the end of 2020. Further, since the beginning of the pandemic, an estimated 1.6 billion learners in 199 countries worldwide were affected by school closures, with nearly 370 million children not receiving a school meal in 150 countries. The paper presents the evidence on the potential negative short-term and long-term effects of school meal scheme disruption during COVID-19 globally. It shows how vulnerable the children participating in these schemes are, how coping and mitigation measures are often only short-term solutions, and how prioritizing school re-opening is critical. For instance, it highlights how girls are at greater risk of not being in school or of being taken out of school early, which may lead to poor nutrition and health for themselves and their children. However, well-designed school feeding programmes have been shown to enable catch-up from early growth failure and other negative shocks. As such, once schools re-open, school meal schemes can help address the deprivation that children have experienced during the closures and provide an incentive for parents to send and keep their children, especially girls, in school.

This paper discusses routes by which HIV/AIDS money is dispersed and received. It notes that capturing accurate data on actual spending patterns of large donors can be difficult, as there is no uniform tracking or reporting system and much HIV/AIDS money is spent under the broader category of sexual and reproductive health. Most of the information contained in the first two sections is based on main reports that assess the general manner in which HIV/AIDS money as a whole is being distributed. Moving on from who is providing funds for HIV/AIDS initiatives at global level, it tracks sources and flows from governments, through bilateral and multilateral channels. It does not include estimates of household spending on care and treatment, which cannot be realistically quantified. Information follows on top US and European donors, the international business community and pharmaceutical companies. Later sections look into ways HIV/AIDS funding is being spent, with the proviso, as before, that detailed breakdowns of actual spending are rare. The broadest categories are prevention, care and treatment, orphan support and research. Within the field of ECD vis-a-vis HIV/AIDS, funds are being directed through two main areas of concern--prevention of mother-to-child transmission and the care of orphans and vulnerable children. This paper describes major players in these arenas, showing that efforts are being made by a few agencies through the amount of funding directed along these channels is minimal in contrast to other target areas. Fundamental questions are raised about current donor priorities and there follows some discussion touching areas where new or reallocated HIV/AIDS funding could be directed. Obvious gaps in the provision of money for ECD and HIV/AIDS support are then identified along with opportunities to carry out work fill such gaps. The final section examines what it would take to direct more money to support young children living in the shadow of HIV/AIDS. Including very young children in HIV/AIDS response strategies will ultimately depend on individual communities devising their own solutions. A further section highlights the critical importance of sharing knowledge through networks that communicate and disseminate evidence-based research findings and project evaluations. In conclusion, this paper calls for advocacy to urge that more funding should go to ECD-HIV/AIDS needs and that current funding approaches to dealing with the crisis need, in addition, to be tracked and evaluated, with a view to promoting more and better ways of meeting the unfulfilled needs of very young children affected by HIV/AIDS. (Contains 2 figures.)

The research reviewed and the current responses identified in this paper show that at local, national and international levels there are gaps in programming and policy to engage ideas and mobilise resources to address the needs and experiences of very young children infected/affected by HIV and AIDS. Chapter one identifies some key areas where the lives of very young children are affected by the pandemic. Chapter two reveals that HIV and AIDS and early childhood development (ECD) programming has shown a limited response so far. Finally, in Chapter three, conclusions are drawn that indicate that services are required urgently to support very young children both directly and through the families and communities in which they live. (Lists 9 resources and 11 online resources.)

Children in Sub-Saharan Africa face the greatest challenges to healthy development of any region in the world. This report presents reviews of 11 Early Childhood Development programs, studied to define financial and institutional conditions necessary to sustain early intervention efforts. Interviews and existing documentation from governmental and non-governmental organizations provide information about the programs and policies that directly affect children, ages birth to six, and their families. The findings point to gaps in existing policies and research, identify the enabling conditions needed for programs to be implemented, and reveal issues to be considered prior to designing new programs. The report's introductory chapter indicates the focus and methodology of the study. Chapter 2 provides a brief overview of the selected programs and their objectives in the context of the area's enabling conditions and needs. Chapter 3 discusses the effects of these enabling conditions on key issues--delivery models, program quality, institutional cooperation, and costs. Chapter 4 summarizes considerations and actions needed to support more effective planning and implementation. Chapter 5 focuses on challenges in data collection, expansion of access to services, and coordination of policy, research, and program efforts. The selected programs are summarized in 12 sidebars. Nine tables compare and contrast elements of the case studies, and two figures delineate statistics. Contains 68 references. (DBD)

In Sub-Saharan Africa, severe adverse conditions have placed children at high risk: persistent and worsening poverty, rapid economic change and population growth, increasing urbanization, a changing family structure, growing numbers of orphaned refugees, and displaced women and children from internal civil strife. These conditions make a viable social policy for children under 5 years of age an urgent necessity. This report presents conditions affecting young children and explores strategies intended to ameliorate their conditions. Part 1, "Socioeconomic Indicators and Trends Affecting Child Survival and Development," discusses findings for 12 Sub-Saharan African nations regarding poverty; population growth; migration and urbanization; changes in family structure, and childrearing beliefs, and practices; and the increase in orphans, refugees, and displaced persons. Part 2, "The Status of Children in Sub-Saharan Africa," compares child status measures of African children with those of other regions, including physical needs, developmental norms, educational profiles, and early intervention. Part 3, "What Can Early Childhood Development Programs Do?" discusses the potential positive influences of early childhood education for the children themselves, their families, and society. Two appendixes list the countries involved and the key social sector indicators for child welfare. Sixteen figures delineate statistics. (Contains 61 references.) (KDFB)

This paper and the four commissioned works on which it is based are guided by the important question: How can we start valuing practices and outcomes of teaching and learning that are difficult to reduce to numbers? As the process of developing indicators for the Post-2015 education targets unfolds, some of the targets are at risk of being dropped on account of being 'un-measurable.' However, excluding more holistic but harder to assess educational targets will inevitably remove vital focus from some of the most important aspects of high quality education provision. Three education targets, developed by the Education for All Steering Committee (EFA-SC) and the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development of the U.N. General Assembly (OWG), are the thematic foci of this paper: (1) Relevant Learning Outcomes; (2) Knowledge, Values, Skills, and Attitudes to Establish Sustainable and Peaceful Societies; and (3) Teachers and Safe, Inclusive, and Effective Learning Environments. These three targets are at risk of being excluded from the final formulation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in response to practical concerns about the number of targets being excessive as well as concerns that targets such as these "rely too much on vague, qualitative language rather than hard, measurable, time-bound, quantitative targets." This report also highlights some of the main ideas put forward by the authors of the four commissioned papers. The annex to this document briefly describes the commissioned papers and presents the indicators proposed by the authors. [For the commissioned papers, see "Capturing Quality, Equity & Sustainability: An Actionable Vision with Powerful Indicators for a Broad and Bold Education Agenda Post-2015" (ED610009), "Goals and Indicators for Education and Development: Consolidating the Architectures" (ED609905), "Indicators for a Broad and Bold Post-2015 Agenda: A Comprehensive Approach to Educational Development" (ED609982), and "Indicators for All? Monitoring Quality and Equity for a Broad and Bold Post-2015 Global Education Agenda" (ED609988).]

The purpose of this paper is to review recent developments related to the development of indicators of educational progress in the context of the Post 2015 deliberations to generate a new international architecture for educational investment through to 2030. There have been a plethora of suggestions and several parallel consultation processes since 2012 to revise and replace the goals for education and development agreed at the World Education Forum in Dakar (UNESCO, 2000) and enshrined in the Millennium Development Goals (United Nations, 2000). This process is now converging on the two frameworks that are the subject of this analysis. Specifically, there are now seven goals that the Education for All Steering Committee has developed which were consolidated in the May 2014 Muscat Agreement (UNESCO, 2014); and the ten goals produced by the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development of the U.N. General Assembly (UN General Assembly, 2014). These goal statements overlap and are largely consistent with each other but contain some significant differences. This paper reconciles the differences and develops sets of possible indicators building on the work of the Indicators Technical Advisory Group (TAG-EFA, 2014) and the UN Statistical Commission (UNSC, 2014). The paper is organized in six parts. Part 1 analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the existing goals and targets for education and development to frame subsequent discussion in the context of the evolution of Education for All since 1990. Part 2 offers a necessary clarification of the relationship between goals and objectives, and targets and indicators. Part 3 reviews and discusses the process of developing indicators that are fit for purpose. Part 4 highlights characteristics of different types of indicator. Part 5 develops a list of preferred goal statements from the Muscat Agreement and OWG goals, links these to a discussion of existing and proposed indicators, and consolidates promising indicators that could be used to assess progress. The last part of the paper collects together forward looking conclusions that profile key issues that will shape how new indicators are devised to monitor the sustainable development goals for education.

This paper provides an in-depth review and analysis of literature on dropping out from school, and focuses on children who have gained access, but fail to complete a basic education cycle. The main discussion is around why and how children drop out from school. Here drop out is not presented as a distinct event, but rather a process where a range of supply-demand factors interact to influence schooling access. The paper looks at literature in relation to household, community and social contexts of dropping out, as well as school supply and practices. It also explores what research is saying around pre-cursors to dropping out and factors which may influence retention. Finally, the study identifies gaps in research around dropping out and how CREATE research could address some of these. CREATE (the Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity) is a DFID funded research programme looking at issues of educational access in South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa. For more information go to www.create-rpc.org. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

This paper draws together research on seasonality, child labour and education in the context of primary education in sub-Saharan Africa. It describes how income poverty and demand for labour can fluctuate within and between years, affecting participation and progression through school systems. It highlights how analysis of the private and public costs of education frequently ignore the significance of seasonal patterns related to the agricultural cycle and migration. It argues that education policy and practice should be more clearly articulated with fluctuations in household income, demand for labour (especially school age children), and seasonal migration cycles. Educational reforms to improve school enrolment and lessen the burden of education on poor will not succeed unless seasonality is recognised. (Contains 2 tables, 18 figures, and 18 footnotes.)

While initial access to education is increasing in many countries, drop out rates continue to be high. This seriously affects MDG and EFA goals around educational access. This briefing paper looks at the issue of dropping out from school. It is based on the CREATE Pathways to Access Research Monograph, "Dropping out from school: a cross country review of literature" (Hunt, 2008) [ED504047].

This monograph presents a collection of articles on nutrition education: "Using the DINE Score To Improve Food Choice Behavior" (Darwin Dennison and Kathryn F. Dennison); "Self-Reported Food Intake Patterns of Older Adults in Australia, China, and the United States" (Alyce D. Fly, Nathan W Shier, Barbara A. Hawkins, Susan J. Eklund, Yang Jingyi, and Anne L. Binkley); "Enhancing Effectiveness and Assessing Cost-Effectiveness of Nutrition Education Interventions" (Janet K. Grommet); "Nutrition Education for African-Americans: Challenges and Opportunities" (Delores C. S.James); "Do Women Athletes Need to Eat Differently from Men Athletes?" (Alice K. Lindeman); "Do Athletes Need Antioxidant Supplements?" (Susan Massad); "School Cafeteria: A Culture for Promoting Child Nutrition Education" (Kweethai Chin Neill, Thomas E. Dinero, and Diane Demuth Allensworth); "American Cancer Society's Guidelines on Diet and Cancer Risk Reduction" (John R. Seffrin); "Zinc Analyzes of Selected Western African Foods with Reference to Nutritional Status" (Nathan W. Shier, Isbatou Boukari, Mohammad R. Torabi, and Heather Chamberlin); and "Diet and Blood Sugar Control--The Glycemic Index in Older Persons" (John R. Warren, Nathan W. Shier, Alyce D. Fly, Susan J. Eklund, Mohammad R. Torabi, and David M. Koceja). (All papers contain references.) (SM)

In Africa today, women's voices are being raised against female genital mutilation. Inspired by the United Nations Decade for Women, this report seeks to present information in a logical, coherent manner to stimulate support for eradication of the practice. It describes steps African governments, Western states, and international agencies can take to end the custom. The report discusses the facts, the practice, and the complexity of the female genital mutilation issue; international initiatives and actions, programs, and proposals; the situation in Northeast Africa, Sudan and the Horn of Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and the Western World; directions for the future; and active organizations. The information can be used as a resource for those concerned with the health and welfare of women and children, and with development, social change, and human rights. In Western countries, the fact that female genital mutilation may be practiced in African immigrant or refugee communities demonstrates that teachers must be educated about the practice. Other roles for education include: expanding educational practices currently available; integrating health promotion and counselling against female genital mutilation; and supporting parents who might be considering refraining from the practice. (LL)

East African maternity care and child rearing practices are discussed from a cross-cultural perspective. A brief background section is followed by discussion of: (1) health and nutrition as preconditions for educational achievement; (2) care of mothers and children and child rearing in East Africa--by far the longest section; (3) the roles of mother and child care as a precondition for educational achievement; (4) parental education and educated siblings; (5) the role of the elderly in informal education; and (6) childhood in the 21st century. It is concluded that increased attention must be given to the programming of services that are in the interest of the child from conception through the preschool years, particularly with regard to maternal health conditions and educational status. That mothers are the initial teachers and creators of their children's cognitive maps is an important fact, and one that must be recognized by those who are programming for the educational development of all children. (RH)