13 November 2025

The Arab Network for Early Childhood Development (ANECD) has joined the “Children and Climate Initiative”, which is a new global research project addressing the needs of children in the climate crisis.

The initiative brings together organizations from around the world and a select group of experts in the fields of climate change, global health, data science, and early childhood development, with the aim of advancing scientific research, informing public policy, and amplifying the voices of children who are on the frontlines of climate change.

And in a world first, the initiative will map over 600 nationally representative datasets that track early childhood development to location- specific climate science, and combine this with first-hand reporting from communities affected by climate change. This research produces the most comprehensive evidence of how climate change is impacting early childhood development in low- and middle-income countries.

Based on the expertise of the organizations participating in the initiative, the findings will be transformed into actionable policy for governments to help shape more adaptive development strategies.

The initiative will also create practical toolkits to empower the children and families on the frontlines of climate change. In addition, the initiative will work on elevating awareness of the unique risks young children face in a changing climate.

ANECD’s joining of the initiative comes as it plays an integral role in the global community of early childhood development as the central hub for the Arab region. In often very challenging conditions, it produces resources that enable children across the Arab world to have a better quality of life and consistently advocates for their rights with policymakers and decision-makers. Over the coming phase, the ANECD team will be bringing their regional expertise and connections to the initiative to facilitate a deeper and more lasting impact for our research. We are incredibly grateful for their participation.

The project’s partner organizations include:

• University of Oxford (based with the Blavatnik School of Government)
• The International Centre for Equity in Health, Pelotas,
• The African Early Childhood Network
• The Asia Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood
• UNICEF