• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News
    • Education

    Pre-primary education spending is a 'blind spot' for aid

    Funding for early childhood development has increased significantly in recent years, but just 1 percent is going to education, according to a Theirworld report published Wednesday.

    By Sophie Edwards // 11 April 2018
    A girl smiles at the camera in the Guardabarranco School in Acoyapa, Nicaragua. Photo by: Carolina Valenzuela / GPE / CC BY-NC-ND

    LONDON — Just 1 percent of early childhood development funding is spent on education, according to a report published Wednesday. The report calls on donors to dedicate at least 10 percent of their education budgets to schooling for children aged under 5.

    While aid for early childhood development programs to improve health, nutrition, and education for pre-primary children has increased significantly in recent years — from $1.3 billion in 2002 to $6.8 billion in 2016 — just 1 percent of that money is spent on preschool education programs, according to the report from children’s charity Theirworld.

    “This is a major blind spot in development spending and efforts to tackle inequality,” Theirworld Campaigns and Communications Director Ben Hewitt said. “Most often, children missing out on preschool are the poorest and most marginalized. It is an unfair disadvantage from the start.”

    Neuroscienctists say a child’s brain experiences its fastest growth and is most “malleable” between the prenatal period and age 3, meaning that proper cognitive and non-cognitive stimulation needs to happen early.  

    The World Bank described early childhood development as “the smartest investment a country can make in its future” in its recent World Development Report on education.

    For example, a study in Mozambique showed that children enrolled in preschool were 24 percent more likely to continue on to primary school. They also showed improved understanding and behavior compared to their peers. Other studies have shown that investing in early education can boost household incomes by allowing parents to return to work.

    However, the majority of ECD donors prefer to put money into nutrition and health, rather than education. For example, the Netherlands and the United States — the second and third largest donors to ECD, respectively — gave nothing to pre-primary education last year, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Similarly, the United Kingdom, the fourth largest ECD supporter, allocated less than 1 percent of ECD funding to education.

    With the majority of funding for pre-primary education coming from just three donors — Canada, South Korea, and the World Bank — campaigners say the sector is vulnerable to shifting priorities.  

    Professor Pauline Rose from the University of Cambridge, who authored the report, called on donors to invest more in early education, which she said “lays the foundation for opportunity and success in adulthood.”

    “Donors need to wake up to the fact that investment in the early years requires access to good quality pre-primary education, as well as health and nutrition. It is time to take a good look at the numbers and commit to urgent action. If they don't, millions of children will fail to reach their full potential,” Rose said.

    • Social/Inclusive Development
    • Funding
    • Economic Development
    • Worldwide
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Sophie Edwards

      Sophie Edwards

      Sophie Edwards is a Devex Contributing Reporter covering global education, water and sanitation, and innovative financing, along with other topics. She has previously worked for NGOs, and the World Bank, and spent a number of years as a journalist for a regional newspaper in the U.K. She has a master's degree from the Institute of Development Studies and a bachelor's from Cambridge University.

    Search for articles

    Related Jobs

    • Coordinator, Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Development
      Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)
      Bridgetown, Barbados | Barbados | Latin America and Caribbean
    • Director, Finance
      Mandaluyong, Metropolitan Manila, Philippines | Metropolitan Manila, Philippines | Philippines | East Asia and Pacific
    • Individual Consultant: International Expert on Institutional Gender Policy Frameworks
      Canberra, Australia | Jakarta, Indonesia | Metropolitan Manila, Philippines | Australia | Indonesia | Philippines | East Asia and Pacific | South Asia
    • See more

    Most Read

    • 1
      Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
    • 2
      FCDO's top development contractors in 2024/25
    • 3
      Strengthening health systems by measuring what really matters
    • 4
      Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
    • 5
      How AI-powered citizen science can be a catalyst for the SDGs

    Trending

    Financing for Development Conference

    The Trump Effect

    Newsletters

    Related Stories

    Sponsored by UNICEF USAOpinion: Healthy starts for lifelong health

    Opinion: Healthy starts for lifelong health

    Devex CheckUpDevex CheckUp: US aid cuts spark tough reforms at UN agencies

    Devex CheckUp: US aid cuts spark tough reforms at UN agencies

    Devex DishDevex Dish: What WHA accomplished for nutrition — and the questions that remain

    Devex Dish: What WHA accomplished for nutrition — and the questions that remain

    The Trump EffectWhat African experts say must change about US foreign aid

    What African experts say must change about US foreign aid

    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement