Health Literacy: Access, Communication, and Outcomes

2173V - Unlocking the potential of community stakeholders to facilitate early childhood development in South Africa

ON-DEMAND

Format: 1-Hour Seminar (Virtual)

Audience: Students, International Affiliates, Public/Consumers, Researchers, Related Professionals, Early Career Professionals (under 5 years)

Keywords: Early childhood development, Low-resourced communities, Stakeholders, mHealth, ECD knowledge

Presenting Author(s)

Renata Eccles

University of Pretoria

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Maria du Toit

University of Pretoria
Jeannie van der Linde

University of Pretoria

Author Only (Not Presenting)(s)

De Wet Swanepoel

University of Pretoria
Brittany Richardson

University of Pretoria
Nadia Smit

University of Pretoria
Marien Graham

University of Pretoria
Bhavani Pillay

University of Pretoria

In low- and middle-income countries, such as South Africa, approximately 250 million children are not reaching their developmental potential. The South African National Development Plan for 2030 proposes to improve early developmental outcomes through application of the Nurturing Care Framework (NCF) using the Side-by-Side campaign. The 5 NCF components are addressed at various levels through enabling environments namely enabling policies, supportive services (early childhood development [ECD] centres), empowered communities (community health workers) and, most importantly, caregiver capabilities. Caregivers, ECD practitioners and community health workers should not be underestimated as key role-players in creating enabling environments for ECD. These stakeholders are best positioned to facilitate developmental care, but need support through innovative healthcare solutions. Solutions will be explored during this session.

Learning Objectives:

Identify risks and resilience factors for early childhood development (ECD) in low-resourced communities
Describe policies and frameworks available that can facilitate innovative early childhood development
Discuss the potential role of community stakeholders to improve access to early childhood development services