Inter-American Dialogue to hold conference
The Inter-American Dialogue will convene a conference focused on systems for measuring childhood development in Latin America today, a region rife with developmental deficits that have only been worsened by COVID-19.
Stemming from the pandemic, opportunities have been limited for children to access social services. According to UNICEF, children in the region have missed more school days than anywhere else in the world. Further, school closures have led to an increased risk of never returning to the classroom, child marriage and child labor, particularly for disadvantaged and vulnerable children.
The impact of the pandemic on early childhood development is expected to be a main focus of the conference as panelists work to respond to learning losses, and the participating governments of Uruguay, Colombia, Chile and Mexico have begun to develop policies to address this issue. Such governmental and non-governmental collaboration through this conference will help the region begin to develop sound mechanisms for evaluating childhood development at the national level. However, due to the sheer scope of the devastation and deterioration of institutional capacities, the region will continue to struggle with measuring childhood development and managing resources to address the deleterious effects of inadequate development.
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