Southeast Asia Early Childhood Care, Nutrition and Education (SEA ECCNE) Mapping Report

The Southeast Asia Early Childhood Care, Nutrition, and Education (SEA ECCNE) Mapping Report presents a comprehensive analysis of early childhood development (ECD) across Southeast Asia, initiated by SEAMEO RECFON in 2017. The ECCNE program aims to create an integrated approach to optimize child growth and development, focusing on parenting, health, nutrition, education, and multi-sectoral participation. After conducting a competency mapping of over 78,000 early childhood educators in Indonesia in 2018, SEAMEO RECFON expanded its efforts to a regional mapping in 2021. This mapping, using secondary data and consultations with experts, highlighted the challenges in accessing data on Holistic and Integrative Early Childhood Development (HI-ECD), especially in English, as well as the need for a better understanding of regional ECD practices. The report outlines key recommendations to address these gaps and improve early childhood care in Southeast Asia. Countries are urged to align their ECD goals with ASEAN’s Early Childhood Care, Development, and Education Quality Standards and relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring that targets are achievable based on each nation’s capabilities. The future plans and recommendations for individual countries emphasize the importance of collaboration, capacity building, and inclusiveness. Overall, the report underscores the need for coordinated efforts at the regional and national levels to ensure equitable, high-quality ECD services across Southeast Asia.