Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to encourage its bilateral partners to adopt a co-ordinated early childhood development approach to provide nutritional, medical and educational support for children.

There is strong evidence that supporting children in their early years with health, education, nutrition and stimulation interventions maximises their learning potential and yields long term benefits. In January DFID held a high level meeting in London, bringing together Ministers and policy makers from developing countries, academic experts and development agencies to explore how to provide cross-sectoral support to young children at scale. Drawing on the evidence base, DFID is exploring with country governments how to co-ordinate early childhood support and how to adapt our existing programmes to encompass early childhood development principles.