Getting to Know Your International Contacts- Part 2

I still have not heard from my international contacts and have not had any luck with new ones.  I have chosen to focus on the Early childhood systems around the globe; particularly Zambia.  The global program focuses on three strategic areas;
- Reframing the discourse around child health and development
-Supporting innovative, multi-disciplinary research and demonstration projects, and
- Building leadership capacity in child development research and policy

The three strategic areas listed above has led to the Global Children's Initiative beginning to build a portfolio of activities in three domains;
- Early childhood development, child mental health, and children in crisis and conflict situations

Zambia has very little evidence available on early childhood development in sub-Saharan Africa.  The Zambian Early Childhood Development Project (ZECDP) was developed in 2009 as a collaborative effort to measure the effects of an ongoing anti-malaria initiative on children's development in Zambia.  A new comprehensive tool for assessing children's physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development was created before the children began school and throughout their careers in school.  This was actually one of their first assessment tools.  In May of 2010 they came up with a test called the Zambian Child Assessment Test (ZamCAT).  This test combines their old knowledge with new knowledge to see their development of preschool aged children according to the Zambian context.  Countries overseas are beginning to realize the importance of early childhood development and the effects of poor health on development as well.

Reference:
Center on the Developing Child Harvard University Global Children's Initiative. (2013). Zambian early childhood development project. Retrieved from: http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiaive/global_initiative