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Lancet series on child development
10 January 2007
Research published in the Lancet by a team from the UCL Institute of Child Health has found that 200 million children growing up in developing countries are held back intellectually because of a lack of stimulation and under-nourishment in the first five years of life.
In 'Developmental potential in the first five years for children in developing countries', the team, led by Professor Sally McGregor, argues that many children are not reaching their potential at school and are therefore likely to have low incomes and provide poor care for their own children. In this way, poverty is passed down from one generation to the next.
However, the report also argued that some solutions to these problems could be relatively simple, such as the provision of more toys to stimulate young children's minds. There is a relationship between children's success at school and their IQ when they arrive at school, so helping them to develop cognitive skills - through structured play, for example - could help to prevent them from being held back intellectually.
The team used worldwide data on early childhood stunting and the number of people living in absolute poverty to reach its conclusions. Most of the children affected live in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
The paper is the first of three being published in the Lancet to focus attention on the poor development of children living in poverty in developing countries. The UCL Institute of Child Heath will be holding a forum on Thursday 25 January to mark the Lancet papers. Alongside Professor McGregor, speakers will include Professor Anthony Costello, Director of the Centre for International Health and Development at the UCL Institute of Child Health, Sir Richard Jolly, an honorary professor at the University of Sussex Institute of Development Studies, and representatives from UNICEF, WHO and World Bank. Members of UCL are welcome to attend.
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