BackgroundUnderstanding donor, government and out-of-pocket funding for early child development (ECD) is important for tracking progress. We aimed to estimate a baseline for the WHO, UNICEF and World Bank Nurturing Care Framework (NCF) with a special focus on childhood disability.MethodsTo estimate development assistance spending, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Creditor Reporting System (OECD-CRS) database was searched for 2007–2016, using key words derived from domains of the NCF (good health, nutrition and growth, responsive caregiving, security and safety, and early learning), plus disability. Associated funds were analysed by domain, donor, recipient and region. Trends of ECD/NCF were compared with reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) disbursements. To assess domestic or out-of-pocket expenditure for ECD, we searched electronic databases of indexed and grey literature.ResultsUS$79.1 billion of development assistance were disbursed, mostly for health and nutrition (US$61.9 billion, 78% of total) and least for disability (US$0.7 billion, 2% of total). US$2.3 per child per year were disbursed for non-health ECD activities. Total development assistance for ECD increased by 121% between 2007 and 2016, an average increase of 8.3% annually. Per child disbursements increased more in Africa and Asia, while minimally in Latin America and the Caribbean and Oceania. We could not find comparable sources for domestic funding and out-of-pocket expenditure.ConclusionsEstimated international donor disbursements for ECD remain small compared with RMNCH. Limitations include inconsistent donor terminology in OECD data. Increased investment will be required in the poorest countries and for childhood disability to ensure that progress is equitable.

EdTech Hub country scans explore factors that enable and hinder the use of technology in education. These factors include the policy or vision for EdTech, institutional capacity, private sector partnerships, and digital infrastructure. The scans are intended to be comprehensive but are by no means exhaustive. The aim is to provide a useful starting point for more in-depth discussions about opportunities and barriers in EdTech in specific countries and, in this case, Liberia. This report is based primarily on desk research, with quality assurance provided by a country expert.

An output of the EdTech Hub, https://edtechhub.org

An output of the EdTech Hub, https://edtechhub.org

EdTech Hub country scans explore factors that enable and hinder the use of technology in education. These factors include the policy or vision for EdTech, institutional capacity, private sector partnerships, and digital infrastructure. The scans are intended to be comprehensive but are by no means exhaustive. The aim is to provide a useful starting point for more in-depth discussions about opportunities and barriers in EdTech in specific countries and, in this case, Liberia. This report is based primarily on desk research, with quality assurance provided by a country expert.