Early Childhood Development in Gaza: A Blueprint and Urgent Call for Action
About the report
The global children’s charity Theirworld has called for the establishment of an early childhood development (ECD) coalition —a unified alliance of international, regional, and local actors –to champion the early years in Gaza.
The blueprint is detailed in a report, “Early Childhood Development in Gaza: A Blueprint and Urgent Call for Action,” outlining the needs to shape and coordinate a comprehensive response plan, facilitating resource mobilization with partners, and advocating for urgent and collective action.
The report highlights the early childhood development crisis has reached a catastrophic tipping point in the region, threatening the survival and future of its most vulnerable population—pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children between the ages of 0 and 5 years old.
Since the start of the conflict, the collapse of essential healthcare, nutrition, education, and safety systems have left over 570,000 individuals—more than 25% of Gaza’s population—facing severe ECD-related challenges. The immediate physical, emotional, and cognitive development of these children is under threat, and their long-term futures are at grave risk.
The report is authored by Theirworld Senior Advisory for Education in Emergencies, Maysa Jalbout, and outlines 20 focus areas for interventions across healthcare, nutrition, responsive caregiving, security and safety, and early learning.
The blueprint calls for critical ECD services to be introduced as early as possible to mitigate the long-term impact on children starting through series of coordinated ECD delivery hubs for children and caregivers across the region. The recovery phase, spanning two to five years post-ceasefire, should then focus on restoring essential ECD services and laying the foundations for sustainable recovery by rebuilding health systems, education, and psychosocial support.
The Gaza report is part of our regional response to support children affected by crises in the Middle East.
