The Countdown Early Child Development profiles, which track 40 indicators across 197 countries, have been updated with the latest available data. For the first time this year, African regional profiles have also been published.
The African regional profiles were developed in response to a demand from African countries and in recognition of the fact that the proportion of children at risk of not reaching their developmental potential, while steadily declining over time, is still the highest in Africa compared to the rest of the world.
The profiles track the five components of the Nurturing Care framework – health, nutrition, security and safety, early learning, and responsive caregiving – as well as the facilitating environment created by policies and international conventions.
The availability of early childhood data continues to improve. For example, data on child and family social protection is now available from 85% of countries, compared to only 37% in 2020. However, data on many indicators remains largely absent. Only 48% of countries report on two of the indicators – children developmentally on track and minimum acceptable diet – while 30% report on children with functional difficulty.
The profiles are derived from nationally representative surveys and censuses, such as the Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) and the Multiple Indicator Cluster surveys (MICS), as well as modeled estimates and country data published in high impact journals.
The ECD country profiles were launched in 2017. Other Countdown profiles highlight reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent indicators (RMNCAH) and equity.
In addition to country profiles, Countdown tracks progress through global reports.