How Experts Are Reimagining Early Childhood for a Changing World

“I think that the problem is that there’s too much focus on what’s good for my children and who cares about other people’s children, whether it’s in a country or around the world,” he said. “We all pay a price for that lack of finding common cause—that we all benefit from everyone in the world being healthier.”

Britto said that another challenge was trying to convince governments to invest in caring for children, and convincing them that both maternal and child health is a public sector issue, rather than just a nonprofit or private sector issue.

“The universal aspiration of every adult, which is wanting the best for their child … has not converted to a vote-getting issue,” Britto said. “It hasn’t converted into a commercial incentive, and it hasn’t converted into a way that a country can stand tall, or a nation or a district can stand tall and say, ‘We’re doing this well.’”

One way to address this is to bring the community into conversations with policymakers, she said, while explaining that UNICEF is trying to bring teachers, parents, and caregivers to the forefront to understand what they need to care for children and give them what they need.