Summary - Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and ...

Meanwhile, the use of kits was not limited to educational settings.
Graph 3 shows the distribution of respondents from the study, reflecting the diverse settings in which kits were used.
Graph 3: Distribution of respondents.
% of respondents representing environments using kits
Orphanage
Baby space/nutrition tent
Child friendly space
Pediatric/Baby clinic
Formal preschool
Informal preschool
No answer
The use of kits in a range of settings meant that nutrition, health, child protection, education and water and sanitation sectors
came to offer and promote ECD activities, facilitating an integrated response to the needs of young children and caregivers.
Other outcomes included facilitating attention to the needs of children and supporting other program outcomes by providing
visible resources to attract participants. As a result, users sought ideas and supports beyond those offered in the accompanying
Caregiver’s Guide.
Outcome depends on pre-emergency conditions.
A significant finding was that outcomes associated with kit use are highly dependent upon the ECD environment or context
which existed prior to the emergency. Thus broad generalisations about impact and effectiveness of ECD kits need to take
into account the prevailing ECD environment and related policy, infrastructure, and attitudinal context. For this reason, the
recommendations from the Haitian study may need to be tempered for situations with differing attitudes and approaches to
ECD in the pre-emergency state.
A number of factors contribute to successful outcomes of ECD kits.
While generalisations beyond the study parameters are cautioned, some implications for responding to early childhood
development needs have been noted. The study revealed that ECD intervention in a post-emergency situation are most likely to
be effective when ECD responses are (1) integrated and use multisectoral approaches; (2) have been sanctioned and approved by
the community; and (3) are associated with investment in human resources. Beyond this, the following critical issues were noted:
distribution of kits needs a coordinating body or process with governmental ownership; training is critical for kit effectiveness;
and, when ECD initiatives incorporate local ownership, they can facilitate long-term plans for enhancing ECD in the affected
region.
The Use and Impact of ECD Kits Post-Earthquake Haiti 2010 <strong>Summary</strong> Document | 3