Early childhood development is a multidimensional concept encompassing physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive-linguistic aspects of well-being This indicator reflects the cumulative effect of social, economic, and environmental conditions in which children live, from the prenatal period through the first years of life. 

According to data from 20 countries, 6 countries had reached or exceeded the 2025 target of 90% of children under 5 being developmentally on track, while an additional 12 countries had reached at least 80%. Despite data limitations, these findings suggest that the Region is on the right track for this indicator. 

The Early Childhood Development Index 2030 (ECDI2030), approved in February 2022, was integrated into UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys 7 (MICS7). Since then, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Trinidad and Tobago have completed new rounds of MICS, generating important data on key indicators related to child well-being. Belize, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Saint Lucia are currently in the survey design phase for upcoming rounds. It is expected that by 2030, 16 countries in the Region will have ECDI2030 data available. In addition, the Country Profiles for Early Childhood Development, developed by UNICEF as part of the Countdown to 2030 for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, are now available. 

Until recently, the Region lacked a standardized and comparable tool to measure early childhood development at the population level. The development of the Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) represents a major advance in this area, providing the first internationally validated instrument that can be adapted to diverse contexts and applied at both population and programmatic levels. Since 2024, PAHO has supported the translation of the GSED Short Form, Long Form, and Home Form into Spanish and Portuguese; the development of training and dissemination materials; and the generation of child development norms and standards for children under 36 months in countries including Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and the United States of America. PAHO has also supported pilot studies aimed at identifying children with neurodevelopmental disorders. 

Looking ahead, the gradual integration of GSED into national surveys and information systems is expected to generate robust and comparable data that will be essential for monitoring future trends. Continued efforts to enhance measurement capacity, knowledge-sharing, and technical collaboration can contribute to strengthening regional monitoring and reporting, while taking into account national contexts, implementation timelines, and existing data systems.