East Asia and the Pacific

The COVID-19 pandemic threatens this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for children in early childhood to develop healthy brains, bodies, and lives. While countries in East Asia and the Pacific have made substantial progress in investing in early childhood development (ECD), services supporting the development and learning of young children will…

Access to primary education is a basic right for every child. An effective primary education can build a solid foundation and open avenues for future success. With its profound implications on both the individual and society, primary education plays a crucial role in reducing extreme poverty and promoting social changes. The Sustainable…, UNICEF’s work in primary education, Ensuring every child is in school is critical to achieving child rights and enabling education to play its role in poverty reduction and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. And yet increasing school enrollment and participation is not enough. By the end of primary school, children should be able to read and write, and to understand and…

While more children in the region have access to preschool programmes today than in 1990, 24 per cent of children do not attend preschool, which limits their readiness to learn and progress in primary and secondary school, while increasing their chances of dropping out. Meanwhile, children from the most vulnerable and disadvantaged households, who…, Solution, Early childhood presents an incomparable window of opportunity to make a difference in a child’s life. Access to quality care and education programmes outside the home provides children with the basic cognitive and language skills they need to flourish in school. Such programmes can also help foster social competency and emotional development. In…

COVID-19 continues to disrupt learning for over 325 million children in East Asia and the Pacific. As variants of the disease take hold in many countries, governments must heed the lessons learned from previous and ongoing COVID-19 responses. While there will be difficult challenges ahead, this moment should also act as a trigger to reimagine the…, It is a time for governments to shine., We should not go back to what was. Even before school closures, far too many children were being left behind., That is why this is the time to protect and reimagine education systems., Animation of child reading, Closures lead to massive learning & economic losses, In 2020, many countries closed schools in response to COVID-19, despite evidence indicating that schools are not a significant driver of the pandemic. During this time, alternative learning measures were in place through the internet, television, radio, and print. Yet, remote learning was out of reach for at least 80 million children, serving to…, Seeds of opportunity, Children and teacher learning in a forest (animation) UNICEF is working with partners across the region to respond to the COVID-19 emergency, and part of the response entails ensuring every child continues to learn. We cannot let today’s crisis become a crisis for generations to come, which is why we are asking governments to continue investments…, A time to recover lost learning., A time to rethink teaching & learning., A time to reimagine education., For every child., Actions to take, Reopen schools as soon as safe to do so Reopening schools cannot wait for all teachers and students to be vaccinated. With the global vaccine shortages plaguing low and middle-income countries, vaccinating frontline workers and those most at risk of severe illness and death will remain a priority. Protect education budgets While national budgets…

NEW YORK, 22 July 2020 – At least 40 million children worldwide have missed out on early childhood education in their critical pre-school year as COVID-19 shuttered childcare and early education facilities, according to a new research brief published today by UNICEF. Produced by UNICEF’s Office of Research – Innocenti, the research brief looks at…

Nearly 16 million children in East Asia and Pacific Region – around 19 per cent of pre-primary-age children – are not enrolled in pre-primary education , contributing to the 175 million children of pre-primary age not enrolled globally, UNICEF warned in a new report released today . Countries with high numbers of children not in pre-primary…

A World Ready to Learn: Prioritizing quality early childhood education – UNICEF’s first ever global report on pre-primary education – reveals that children enrolled in at least one year of pre-primary education are more likely to develop the critical skills they need to succeed in school, less likely to repeat grades or drop out of school, and…

Asia’s most successful countries will be those whose decision makers recognize that achieving the equitable and sustained growth captured by SDG 8 requires investments to nurture and protect children’s cognitive capital. Optimizing children’s capabilities requires supporting mothers and caregivers through the prenatal period and ensuring that…

Challenge, The early years of life, including the first 1,000 days, constitute a unique period of opportunity with profound impact on children – on their brain and physical development, mental health and emotional state, the readiness to learn in school and the social ability to interact with others. Children depend on adults for good health, adequate…, Solution: Building back better for Early Childhood Development, UNICEF in East Asia and the Pacific is committed to promoting high-quality, innovative, and inclusive ECD interventions that respond flexibly to children and their family’s needs in a timely, cost-effective and scalable way.  We work in partnership with stakeholders globally and regionally, including the Asia Pacific Regional Network for Early…