Early Childhood Development and Early Learning for Children in Crisis and Conflict

This paper was commissioned as background information to assist in drafting the 2019 GEM Report – Migration, displacement, and education: Building bridges, not walls. The paper presents the case for increased attention and investment in early childhood in conflict and crisis-contexts, with focused attention on early learning and family support. The scale of the problem, current science and evidence, current global standards and principles, and case studies are all discussed, and priority recommendations are offered. The iACT Little Ripples program in Chad is presented within this paper as a case study on pages 13 – 15. The case study provides an overview of the background of the Little Ripples program activities, implementation details, and programmatic impact in Chad.