20081204 Global Child Development

8/13/2019 20081204 Global Child Development

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ANDERSON COURT REPORTI NG706 Duke St r eet , Sui t e 100

Al exandri a, VA 22314Phone ( 703) 519- 7180 Fax ( 703) 519- 7190

1

THE BROOKI NGS I NSTI TUTI ON

A CALL TO ACTI ON FOR GLOBAL EARLY CHI LD DEVELOPMENT

Washi ngt on, D. C.

Thur sday, December 4, 2008


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PARTI CI PANTS:

Moderator:

CHARLES KOLBPr esi dentCommi t t ee f or Economi c Devel opment

Panelists:

RUTH LEVI NEVi ce Pr esi dentCent er f or Gl obal Devel opment

GENE SPERLI NGDi r ect or , Cent er f or Uni ver sal Educat i onCounci l on For ei gn Rel at i ons

J OAN LOMBARDIDi r ect or , The Chi l dr en s Pr oj ectResear ch Pr of essor , Publ i c Pol i cy I nst i t ut e

Geor getown Uni ver si t y

Closing Remarks:

J AMES WOLFENSOHNChai r man and CEO, Wol f ensohn & Company, LLCFormer Presi dent of t he Wor l d Bank

* * * * *

P R O C E E D I N G S


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MR. KOLB: Wel come, ever yone. Thank you f or

comi ng back t o t he f i nal panel di scussi on t hi s

af t er noon wher e we are goi ng t o t al k about A Cal l t o

Act i on f or Gl obal Ear l y Chi l d Devel opment , i n ot her

wor ds, what do we do wi t h ever yt hi ng we ve hear d

t hr oughout t he mor ni ng and f i r st par t of t he

af t er noon.

And I m ver y pl eased t o wel come our

panel i st s. We r e goi ng t o hear f r om our t hr ee

di st i ngui shed speaker s, and t hen I m goi ng t o ask our

host , J i m Wol f ensohn, t o t ake t he podi um and summar i ze

ever yt hi ng and t el l us how i t s al l goi ng t o happen.

Thank you, J i m.

I m ver y pl eased t o wel come Rut h Levi ne,

Vi ce Pr esi dent of t he Cent er f or Gl obal Devel opment .

I t hi nk, Rut h, t hi s i s t he f i r st t i me we ve wel comed

you t o a CED event . You may have been at Br ooki ngs, I

suspect you ve been at Br ooki ngs, and both Br ooki ngs

and CED are very pl eased t o have you wi t h us t hi s

af t er noon and l ook f orward t o your r emarks.


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Gene Sper l i ng, wel come back. I t hi nk t hi s

i s your second appearance at a CED event . We r emember

f ondl y some year s ago when you were i n the Cl i nton

Whi t e House j oi ni ng us f or one of our Washi ngt on

meet i ngs wi t h Tr ust ees. Gene i s the Di r ect or of t he

Cent er on Uni ver sal Educat i on at t he Counci l on

For ei gn Rel at i ons, and we r e ver y pl eased t o have you.

And i t s al ways a pl easur e t o i nt r oduce J oan

Lombardi , Resear ch Prof essor , t he Georget own Publ i c

Pol i cy I nst i t ut e her e at Geor get own. As I say al ways,

anyt hi ng I know about ear l y educat i on I ve l ear ned

f r om J oan, who has been a ment or and al so someone t hat

I j ust I m enor mousl y f ond of . She was a par t ner

wi t h us at CED as we have devel oped our own ear l y

educat i on work, and I know she has i nspi r ed t hose of

us at CED, Br ooki ngs, and al l over t he count r y, and I

shoul d add t he wor l d, wi t h her work and commi t ment t o

ear l y educat i on.

I m goi ng t o ask each of our speaker s t o

t al k f or about t en mi nut es, and t hen we wi l l have

di al ogue among our sel ves and wi t h you, and t hen J i m


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Wol f ensohn wi l l cl ose i t out f or us. So I t hi nk,

Rut h, we r e goi ng t o st ar t wi t h you.

MS. LEVI NE: Thanks ver y much. I t s r eal l y

a pl easur e and al so a l i t t l e i nt i mi dat i ng t o be

pr esent i ng, because I am i n no way, shape, or f or m

near l y t he ki nd of exper t on ear l y chi l dhood

devel opment t hat many of t he peopl e i n t hi s r oom are,

but f or t unat el y I know t hat Gene, and t hen af t er hi m,

J oan, wi l l mop up and gent l y cor r ect anyt hi ng I may

mi sst at e or omi t acci dent al l y. So when I t hi nk of

ear l y chi l dhood devel opment , t he i mage that comes t o

mi nd i s somet hi ng about bi cycl e chai ns. And t hat s

not j ust because bi cycl es ar e t hi ngs t hat of t en

chi l dr en l i ke t o pl ay wi t h, but al so because bi cycl e

chai ns get gear s goi ng, get wheel s goi ng.

And i n t he case of ear l y chi l dhood

devel opment , I t hi nk we can t hi nk of t wo ki nds of

vi r t uous cycl es t hat ar e dr i ven f or war d by ear l y

chi l dhood devel opment . One i s r eal l y r el at ed t o t he

nut r i t i on and t he heal t h of young chi l dr en who woul d

ot her wi se be mor e vul ner abl e t o mal nut r i t i on, t o


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i nf ect i on t hat s associ at ed wi t h poor nut r i t i on, and,

you know, as i s wel l document ed i n al l mat t er of

ever yt hi ng f r om bi omedi cal t o soci al sci ence,

l i t er at ur e, i mpr oved nut r i t i onal st at us has and

heal t h st at us has many posi t i ve f ol l ow on ef f ect s f or

t he l i f et i me oppor t uni t i es f or educat i onal at t ai nment

and f or psychosoci al devel opment of chi l dr en as t hey

move i nt o f ur t her i nt o chi l dhood and i nt o

adol escence and adul t hood.

So t hat s one and par t of t he vi r t uous cycl e.

The ot her i s di r ect l y t hrough educat i on and t hrough

t he r eadi ness f or school t hat ear l y chi l dhood

devel opment pr ogr ams pr ovi de, and then f or al l t he

good benef i t s t hat accrue when educat i onal at t ai nment

i s i mpr oved, and I t hi nk Gene wi l l speak more about

t hat .

So my backgr ound i s ver y much f r om t he

heal t h sect or , and I know t hat s t r ue f or at l east

some peopl e i n t hi s r oom. And so I was t hi nki ng

about , wel l , how do we t ypi cal l y sor t of make t he case

f or donor and f or nat i onal gover nment and ot her t ypes


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of bot h pr i vat e and publ i c i nvest ment i n good heal t h

i nt er vent i ons, and t her e ar e a f ew sor t of cri t er i a

t hat ar e t ypi cal l y i nvoked.

So one i s t hat t he i nt er vent i on or t he

pr ogr am benef i t s, bot h t he i ndi vi dual s who pr ovi de

pr i vat e benef i t s, and al so t he br oader communi t y.

Thi s i s, you know, t ypi cal l y how i mmuni zat i on programs

ar e at l east par t i al l y j ust i f i ed, i s on t he basi s of

t he spi l l over ef f ect t hat t hey have, and al so t he

benef i t s over t he l i f et i me of t he i ndi vi dual .

So one i s t hi s ki nd of , you know, i dea of ,

wel l , what ar e t he benef i t s t o t he i ndi vi dual and t he

br oader soci et y. Second i s, does t he pr ogr am or t he

i nt er vent i on di spr opor t i onal l y benef i t t he poor and

ot her soci al l y mar gi nal i zed popul at i ons. A t hi r d sor t

of cr i t er i on i s whet her t he i nt er vent i on passes some

ver si on of economi c anal ysi s, whet her t hat s cost

ef f ect i veness anal ysi s, or l ess f r equent i n t he heal t h

sector, cost benef i t anal ysi s. A f our t h cri t er i on i s

whet her i t s af f or dabl e, whi ch i s qui t e a separ at e


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quest i on f r om whet her or not i t s cost ef f ect i ve, can

i t be af f or ded gi ven t he cur r ent budget const r ai nt s.

And a f i nal cri t er i on t hat s t ypi cal l y used

i s , i s i t t echni cal l y and i nst i t ut i onal l y f eas i bl e.

Yes, i t may be a good i dea i n concept , but can we

act ual l y do i t gi ven t he t ool s t hat we cur r ent l y have,

or do we have t o i nvest i n r esearch and t ool s t o make

i t mor e possi bl e.

So I t hi nk, you know, by those ki nd of

gener i c cr i t er i a f or whet her donors and gover nment s

shoul d i nvest i n somet hi ng, ear l y chi l dhood

devel opment i s a r emar kabl y obvi ous wi n, I t hi nk,

al t hough t her e are st i l l some gaps i n t he knowl edge

t hat may r equi r e some at t ent i on.

So goi ng back t o t he f i r st one, who benef i t s

f r om ear l y chi l dhood devel opment ? Wel l , cl ear l y,

i ndi vi dual ki ds do, and t her e s r el at i vel y good

document at i on around the i mpr ovement s i n nut r i t i onal

st at us t hat accr ue t o chi l dr en who ar e par t i ci pant s i n

ear l y chi l dhood devel opment pr ogr ams t hat have

adequat e chi l d f eedi ng and mi cr onut r i ent i nt er vent i ons


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associ at ed wi t h t hem, whet her i t s i odi ne, i r on

suppl ement at i on, or ot her t ypes of pr ogr ams. Ther e s

al so t he heal t h benef i t s t hat come wi t h dewormi ng

pr ogr ams and ot her mor e i ndi r ect ef f ect s of ear l y

exposur e t o heal t h educat i on messages, perhaps around

hand washi ng, good nut r i t i on and so f or t h.

So t her e ar e a l ot of benef i t s t hat have

been document ed at t he l evel of t he i ndi vi dual chi l d.

The broader communi t y l evel benef i t s ar e al so

r el at i vel y cl ear and have a l ot t o do wi t h t he

pr epar at i on of ki ds f or bet t er educat i onal

per f or mance, hi gher l evel s of enr ol l ment and l ess drop

out i n bot h ear l y and t hen l at er year s. And I t hi nk,

agai n, Gene wi l l t al k about t hat .

Let me j ust ment i on a f ew of t he r esearch

r esul t s t hat have been I t hi nk f ai r l y f r equent l y used

as par t of t hi s ar gument . There s now a ver y f amous

st udy i n Kenya t hat used an el egant r andom assi gnment

desi gn t hat demonst r at ed t hat dewormi ng i mproved

pr i mar y school par t i ci pat i on si gni f i cant l y.


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I n Paki st an, ear l y chi l dhood nut r i t i on

pr ogr ams had a si gni f i cant posi t i ve ef f ect on school

enr ol l ment , and di spr opor t i onat el y f or gi r l s i n t hat

soci et y. And t hen i n Cent r al Amer i ca and t he

Car i bbean, t her e ar e sever al st udi es demonst r at i ng t he

i mpact of i odi ne suppl ement at i on on I Q on i ncr eases

i n I Q. So t her e s a ki nd of l i t any of t hese st udi es

t hat are pr et t y convi nci ng, al t hough t hey do have some

met hodol ogi cal chal l enges, because wi t h some, f ew

except i ons, many of t he st udi es are essent i al l y

obser vat i onal studi es, and so i t s a l i t t l e bi t t r i cky

t o t el l whet her or not t he ki ds who di dn t par t i ci pat e

i n t he pr ogr ams ar e si mi l ar i n r el evant

character i st i cs t o t he ones who di d, you know, maybe

t her e s somet hi ng di f f er ent about t he f ami l i es t hat

choose t o par t i ci pat e. So I woul d say t her e s st i l l

some r oom f or advanci ng t he knowl edge base by

addr essi ng t hat sel ect i on by us.

But on bal ance, I t hi nk t he cri t er i on of ,

you know, ar e benef i t s accrui ng t o i ndi vi dual s i n t he


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br oader soci et y, t hat s wel l met by t he avai l abl e

evi dence.

Second i s al so an easy cal l , and t hat i s

whet her ear l y chi l dhood devel opment progr ams have t he

pot ent i al t o di spr opor t i onat el y benef i t poor and

soci al l y mar gi nal i zed popul at i ons. And I t hi nk, you

know, i nt ui t i on al one, l et al one t he document at i on

t hat exi st s, i s ver y cl ear t hat ki ds who come f r om

i mpover i shed backgr ounds and backgr ounds wher e t he

soci al st i mul at i on i s l i mi t ed di spr opor t i onat el y

benef i t f r om pr ogr ams when t hey have access . And i n

some set t i ngs wher e ther e s cl ear son pr ef er ence, t he

gi r l s benef i t mor e t han t he boys do, because t hey r e

st ar t i ng f r om a l ower base t ypi cal l y of nut r i t i on and

soci al i nt er acti on. So I t hi nk on t he sor t of equi t y

and mer i t goods cr i t er i on, i t does ver y wel l .

And I t hi nk t hat t her e ar e al so l i kel y, i f

we l ooked car ef ul l y enough, l i kel y to be consi der abl e

i ndi r ect benef i t s f or mot her s f r om havi ng ki nd of

f r om r educed i sol at i on and some model i ng of good

par ent i ng, as wel l as f r eei ng up t hei r t i me a bi t t o


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par t i ci pat e i n t he l abor f or ce. So t hat s t he second

cr i ter i on.

On whether ECD programs pass cost

ef f ect i veness and cost benef i t anal yses, t he r esour ce

book that I m sur e i s bei ng made avai l abl e t o al l of

you, t he Coor di nat or s not ebook t hat I t hi nk J oan i s

pr i mar i l y r esponsi bl e f or , or l ar gel y r esponsi bl e f or

who s r esponsi bl e f or t hi s? Al l r i ght

SPEAKER: A mul t i pl e of peopl e her e.

MS. LEVI NE: - - gr eat . Wel l , i t s t ot al l y

gr eat , and i t gi ves l ot s of good gui del i nes f or how t o

under t ake economi c eval uat i ons, and does pr esent some

of t he cost benef i t anal yses t hat have been done. And

I t hi nk ther e, t oo, t her e s a compel l i ng case t hat t he

r et ur ns i n economi c t er ms, l ar gel y t hr ough t hese

mul t i pl i er and f ol l ow on ef f ect s of educat i on and l ong

t er m bet t er earni ng power , do hel p make t he case f or

ear l y chi l dhood devel opment . So t hen i s i t

af f or dabl e? And agai n, t he coor di nat or t he r ecent

Coor di nat or s Not ebook real l y pr esent s pr et t y

i nt er est i ng i nf or mat i on about how, r el at i ve t o t he


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over al l educat i on budget , and cer t ai nl y t he over al l

heal t h budget , i t s a r el at i vel y smal l f r acti on t hat

woul d have t o be al l ocat ed t o r eal l y si gni f i cant l y

i mprove access f or l ow i ncome popul at i ons i n many

count r i es. And I t hi nk among t he count r i es that ar e

cover ed, I m not goi ng t o l et s see i f I can

r emember , t here ar e sor t of worked exampl es f or

Cambodi a, Louse, Bangl adesh, Yemen, and ot her

count r i es.

And I t hi nk t he af f or dabi l i t y par t of t he

argument al so can be vi ewed i n t erms of t he accr ued

savi ngs. When you have progr ams t hat r educe t he

event ual need f or , f or exampl e, r emedi al educat i on,

chasi ng down ki ds who have ei t her not ent ered or

dr opped out f r om school , and pr ovi di ng heal t h car e t o

chi l dr en who ar e made vul ner abl e t o ot her ki nds of

heal t h condi t i ons by mal nut r i t i on. And t hen t he f i nal

cri t er i on, whet her i t s t echni cal l y and

i nst i t ut i onal l y f easi bl e, wel l , I mean we have a l ot

of r eal wor l d exampl es of di f f er ent model s of ear l y

chi l dhood devel opment progr ams i n qui t e r esour ce poor


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set t i ngs t hat f unct i on r el at i vel y wel l . I f I wer e

perhaps suggest i ng an ar ea where good pol i cy work,

r esear ch work coul d be done that woul d hel p to bol st er

t he case, i t woul d be t o r eal l y showcase i n an

evi dence based way a whol e r ange of t hese pr ogr ams,

and t r y t o i dent i f y what t he common sour ces of success

have been, and real l y demonst r at e how model s have been

scal ed up f r om pl ace t o pl ace.

So t he bot t om l i ne f or me i s t hat compar ed

t o many of t he heal t h i nt er vent i ons, heal t h onl y

i nt er vent i ons t hat have obt ai ned si gni f i cant amount s

of donor suppor t , I t hi nk that ear l y chi l dhood

devel opment pr ogr ams r eal l y surpass t he t hr eshol d f or

bei ng j ust i f i ed as mor e t han j ust i f i ed as good uses

f or donor and nat i onal gover nment r esour ces.

That doesn t mean t hat t hey don t have a l ot

of ot her good thi ngs wi t h whi ch t hey r e compet i ng, but

t hey do cl ear l y pass t hat sor t of bar of , i f money

wer e avai l abl e, woul d t hi s be somet hi ng t hat t he

publ i c sect or shoul d be spendi ng money on.


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J ust i n cl osi ng, l et me say t hat i f we go

back t o t he ki nd of met aphor of ear l y chi l dhood

devel opment pr ogr ams as t hi s bi cycl e chai ns t hat get

vi r t uous cycl es goi ng, you mi ght ask, wel l , sor t of

what ar e t he pedal s t hat get t he bi cycl e chai ns t o

st art movi ng, and cl ear l y, t hat s some combi nat i on of

money and of pol i t i cal wi l l . And i t seems t o me, f r om

r eadi ng f r om t he mat er i al s, f r om seei ng a bi t of t he

energy around t hi s conf erence, and knowi ng some of t he

ot her act i vi t i es that ar e goi ng on i n t hi s f i el d, t hat

t her e s st ar t i ng t o be a r eal cri t i cal mass of bot h

t echni cal consensus about t he val ue of t hi s, and

t hr ough t he work of peopl e l i ke Gene Sper l i ng and

ot her s, a r eal r ecogni t i on t hat educat i on i n gener al

has been under i nvest ed i n t he r ecent past by t he donor

communi t y and other s, and so hopef ul l y t her e wi l l be a

r eal oppor t uni t y f or st eppi ng up t hose i nvest ment s

despi t e t he economi c const r ai nt s whi ch we f i nd

our sel ves t hese days. So wi t h t hat , I l l t ur n i t over

t o Gene.


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MR. SPERLI NG: I ve been a l i t t l e bi t under

t he weat her , and yest er day I had t o gi ve t hi s t al k, as

wel l , and I had a hor r i bl e sneezi ng at t ack f or t unat el y

f i ve mi nut es af t er I l ef t t he podi um, so I hope my

t i mi ng wi l l be as good t hi s t i me, as wel l .

I t hi nk when I l ooked at t he pr ogr am

[ agenda] her e, I di d f ear a l i t t l e bi t t hat t hi s was

t he ul t i mat e [ summar y] and I m j ust t he l ast per son

t o say t hem. So I m goi ng t o t r y t o avoi d t hat as

much as I can and j ust st ar t wi t h t he f ol l owi ng, whi ch

i s t hat I am somebody who has had t he oppor t uni t y to

wor k on t hi s i ssue i n bot h t he U. S. and t he devel opi ng

count r y cont ext .

I n t he U. S. cont ext I was basi cal l y J oan

Lombardi s banker at t he Whi t e House, and I was proud

of t hat r ol e, meani ng t hat I was t he per son at t he NEC

who f ought ver y, ver y hard on a year l y basi s t o get

t he i ncr eases i n ear l y Head St ar t and Head St ar t ,

whi ch sl owl y but sur el y act ual l y mor e than doubl ed,

f r om 2. 7 t o 6. 2 bi l l i on, not near l y enough, but an


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exampl e of how you can have huge pr ogress and you can

al so pl ug away year by year , as wel l .

When I anot her t hi ng t hat I di d i n t he

Whi t e House was t hat I ki nd of was t he poi nt person

f or our emer gi ng ef f or t s on uni ver sal educat i on, and

t hat got me wor ki ng wi t h J i m Wol f ensohn. And I t hi nk

our f at es wer e br ought t oget her i n Dakar , wher e J i m

very f amousl y made t he comment t hat t he goal of t he

Wor l d Educat i on For um t her e goi ng f orward and the

Educat i on f or Al l Goal s was t hat no count r y wi t h a

st r ong pl an f or uni ver sal educat i on shoul d f ai l f or

si mpl y l ack of r esour ces. That was t he basi c gl obal

pr omi se t hat J i m coi ned, and has been, i n many ways,

t he unmet gl obal pr omi se goi ng f orward. Now, t he

i nt er est i ng t hi ng f or our pur poses i s t hat t her e wer e

si x Educat i on f or Al l Goal s. Lat er t hat same year , i n

Sept ember , at t he Mi l l enni um Devel opment Goal s, t hey

t ook out one of t hem, whi ch was uni ver sal compl et i on

of pr i mar y educat i on as t he second goal . But f or

t hose of us who were t her e i n Dakar , we recogni zed


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t hat t he f i r st of t he si x goal s was t o make dr amat i c

pr ogr ess on ear l y chi l dhood educat i on.

Now, f ol l owi ng the Dakar , and agai n, t hanks

a l ot t o J i m Wol f ensohn s l eader shi p, I was i n ci vi l

soci et y at t hi s t i me and t her e was a handf ul of us who

were pushi ng very, ver y hard and worki ng mai nl y wi t h

J i m and hi s f ol ks at t he Wor l d Bank t o t r y t o cr eat e

some f or m of f i nanci ng st r uct ur e, whi ch ended up bei ng

what we now cal l t he Educat i on Fast Tr ack I ni t i at i ve.

And t he Educat i on Fast Tr ack I ni t i at i ve di d

t ake and put i t s f ocus on t he Mi l l enni um Devel opment

Goal of uni ver sal compl et i on of pr i mar y educat i on.

And l i ke many t hi ngs i n l i f e, i t i s a st or y of a hal f

gl ass f ul l , hal f empt y, maybe i t s a t hi r d f ul l , t wo-

t hi r ds empt y, but t he f act t hat t hi s f i nanci ng

st r uct ur e has been cr eat ed and was cr eat ed out of

scr at ch i s no smal l bi t of pr ogr ess, as much as t he

hol es ar e st i l l ver y l ar ge. Now, what s happeni ng on

t he educat i on f r ont i s t hat you ve got t he f ol l owi ng

pr obl em, and i t s not t hat much di f f er ent t han what we

f ace i n a l ot of domest i c cont ext , whi ch i s t hat t he


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wor l d has ki nd of put t hi s f ocus on uni ver sal

compl et i on of pr i mar y educat i on.

Now, what you d l i ke t o do i s [ t o] have

succeeded at t hat goal and then expand to t he ot her

Educat i on f or Al l Goal s. And t he argument t hat you

see more and more i s t hat even i f you ar e f ocusi ng on

t he compl et i on of pr i mar y educat i on, you st i l l have t o

l ook beyond and bef ore.

Now, t he argument beyond now, you know,

t he st at i st i c you l l al ways hear i s t hat t her e s 72

mi l l i on chi l dr en out of school , l et s be cl ear what

t hat st at i st i c i s, t hat i s 72 mi l l i on pr i mar y age

chi l dr en out of school i n t he wor l d.

Ther e i s some i mprovement wi t h t hat number

due t o el i mi nat i on of f ees i n some Af r i can count r i es,

but most l y due t o I ndi a s economi c pr ogr ess. But

t her e ar e anot her 226 mi l l i on chi l dr en of secondar y

age out of school . So when you l ook at what we woul d

consi der uni ver sal educat i on, t he gap i s about 300

mi l l i on chi l dr en. Now, what a l ot of peopl e ar e, of

cour se, f i ndi ng on t he secondar y school f r ont i s t hat


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20

not onl y i s t hi s i mpor t ant i n and of i t sel f , but i t s

al so i mpor t ant as essent i al l y a pul l . Par ent s want t o

know t her e coul d be some f ur t her oppor t uni t y f or t hei r

chi l dr en. They ar e mor e l i kel y t o compl et e si xt h

gr ade i f t hey thi nk t her e s a chance of goi ng t o

sevent h and ei ght h gr ade, and they r e mor e l i kel y t o

go t o sevent h and ei ght h gr ade i f t hey t hi nk t her e s

some ki nd of economi c oppor t uni t y.

Now, I t hi nk what you r e seei ng a l i t t l e bi t

more r ecent l y, as we ve seen r i ght l y, more f ocus. And

I shoul d say t hat f or a l ot of us when we t al k about ,

you know, I never when I speak use uni ver sal pr i mary

educat i on, t hat s i n t he Mi l l enni um Devel opment Goal ,

you can t f i nd i t i n my wr i t i ngs, we say uni ver sal

basi c educat i on.

And basi c educat i on has general l y been

t hought t o mean at l east ei ght year s of qual i t y of

t he educat i on necessar y, par t i cul ar l y i n t he

devel opi ng count r y cont ext , t o be f unct i onal , t o be

abl e t o be pr oduct i ve, t o be t he ki nd of par ent t hat


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21

wi l l l ead t o t he hi gher heal t h and economi c benef i t s

t hat educat i on br i ngs.

Now, what s happened on t he ear l y chi l dhood,

of cour se, i s t hat you get i nt o t he ki nd of debat e you

woul d expect . Peopl e come and show t he i ncr edi bl e

i mport ance i n devel opi ng count r i es, and, you know,

t her e s st udi es, and I coul d go t hr ough t hem, I don t

know i f you ve hear d t hem al l , but f r om Nepal , Tur key,

Ar gent i na, Ur uguay, I mean i t s what you d expect ,

chi l dr en ar en t t hat di f f er ent ar ound t he wor l d.

Ear l y pr eschool has hi gh r et ur ns and i t has

hi gher r et ur ns, t he poor , and t he more di sadvant aged

chi l dr en are. And one t hi ng J oan and I have even

worked on i s t he i mpor t ance of even havi ng ear l y

chi l dhood i n si t uat i ons of conf l i ct and r ef ugee, wher e

chi l dr en at ver y young ages have wi t nessed, you know,

t r aumat i c si t uat i ons, and t he i mpor t ance i n a mi l l i on

ways on t he soci al devel opment .

Now, I t hi nk one of t he t hi ngs t hat [ have]

hel ped put ear l y chi l dhood i nt o f ocus i s not j ust

expandi ng beyond pr i mary educat i on, but I t hi nk t hat


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22

now t hat t here s been some gr eat er f ocus on access,

t her e s been a gr eat er t ur n on t he qual i t y i ssue. Ar e

you j ust get t i ng but t s i n chai r s or ar e chi l dr en

act ual l y l ear ni ng?

And I don t want t o di smi ss t he f or mer . I

mean f or a l ot of young chi l dr en, t he oppor t uni t y t o

go t o school i s a chance t o have par t of t hei r

chi l dhood, a cer t ai n number of chi l dr en, even i n t he

wor st school si t uat i ons, t hr i ve and do wel l .

Nonet hel ess, a l ot of t he st udi es on what chi l dr en

have act ual l y l ear ned i n school s [ ar e] depr essi ng, t o

say t he l east . And I t hi nk t hi s i s wher e I t hi nk many

of t he ear l y chi l dhood advocates have been abl e t o

make t he case f or ear l y chi l dhood educat i on as not

j ust an expansi on beyond pr i mar y, but as a necessi t y

f or get t i ng t he qual i t y educat i on.

Because wher e t he ear l y pr eschool st udi es

ar e showi ng i s r eal l y bet t er i n t he l ear ni ng f r ont .

So one of t he t hi ngs i n my many hat s i n t hi s area, I m

on t he Advi sor y Boar d of t he Newgat es Hewl et t Qual i t y

Educat i on Pr oj ect , and t hey ar e openi ng t hei r eyes


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more t o pr eschool , not because i t was on t he mandat e,

but t hey r e seei ng t hat chi l dr en who have gone t o

pr eschool ar e get t i ng bet t er r eadi ng, l ear ni ng r esul t s

by t hi r d gr ade, whi ch i s a bi t of t he f ocus t hat t hey

have been t aki ng.

Now, i t s wor t h, you know, i t s ver y har d

t o, you know, t al k about a pi ece of t he educat i on

puzzl e wi t hout t al ki ng about some of t he l arger

i ssues. And I t hi nk i t s i mpor t ant t o ki nd of

r ecogni ze t hat a l ot of t he gener al i ssues t hat pl ague

uni ver sal educat i on i n devel opi ng count r i es wi l l be

si mi l ar at t he pr eschool / ear l y chi l dhood el ement . One

i s t hat , you know, you don t r eal l y have t o convi nce

peopl e t hat i t s good f or t he chi l d t o go t o school ,

or par t i cul ar l y good f or gi r l s who ar e of t en out of

school t o go t o school . But l et s r emember , among t he

poorest par ent s i n t he wor l d, t hose i ncent i ves can be

l ess cl ear f or f ami l i es deal i ng wi t h ext r eme pover t y.

And one thi ng t hat we ve seen r epeat edl y i s t hat i n

devel opi ng count r i es wher e you do have publ i c


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24

educat i on, you st i l l have f ees, and not j ust f ees, but

f ees per chi l d.

Now, I ve of t en sai d when I speak t hat i f

you were ki nd of gi ven some evi l assi gnment , and our

evi l assi gnment was, we were goi ng t o go i nto a

br eakout sessi on and you wer e goi ng t o t r y t o f i gur e

out how coul d you set up a f i nanci ng syst em, how coul d

a count r y set up a f i nanci ng syst em t hat woul d do the

best possi bl e i n ensur i ng t hat t he most vul ner abl e

chi l dr en don t go t o school . I f you r eal l y t hought

about i t f or a l ong t i me and you wer e t r yi ng to come

up wi t h t hi s evi l pl an, you woul d come up wi t h f ees

per chi l d.

Because what happens wi t h f ees per chi l d i s

t hat , i t s not t hat most par ent s don t send any of

t hei r chi l dr en t o school ; t hey send t hei r t wo

heal t hi est boys t o school . They t hi nk t hei r boys ar e

goi ng t o be t her e f or t hem, whi ch t hey pr obabl y are,

t hey r e mor e l i kel y to suppor t t hei r secur i t y, but

you r e not goi ng to send your chi l d who has a

di sabi l i t y, and you may not send your gi r l s, who you


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25

t hi nk you r e goi ng t o mar r y of f . I ndeed, i f you want

t o see one of t he most depr essi ng st at i st i cs i n al l of

devel opment , i t i s est i mated t hat onl y bet ween t wo

per cent , and her e s t he hi gh number , t en percent of

chi l dr en wi t h ser i ous di sabi l i t i es go t o school i n

devel opi ng count r i es, t wo to ten per cent .

And so a l ot of what we want t o do

essent i al l y i s t r y t o al i gn t he i nt er est of t he par ent

wi t h what we know i s t he i nt er est of al l of t hei r

chi l dr en. And I t hi nk what you f i nd i s, when you make

t he cost benef i t easi er f or someone t o send al l t hei r

ki ds t o school , parent s ever ywher e do want what s

best .

Now, t hi s actual l y get s i nt o some

i nt er est i ng t wof er s and t hr eef er s, i t goes t o some of

t he poi nt s Rut h i s maki ng. How do you al i gn t hose

i ncent i ves? Wel l , one, make school f r ee, but i f a

pr eschool i s goi ng t o al l have f ees, you r e goi ng t o

have t he exact same pr obl ems.

So i f i t s f r ee, you ve t aken away at l east

one of t he bar r i er s. I f you actual l y of f er a meal , i f


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26

you of f er t he dewor mi ng t hi ngs, i f you of f er al l t he

t hi ngs t hat you can pi ggyback once you have an

i nf r ast r uct ur e of school set up, you, not onl y f r om

our perspect i ve do you have ki nd of a wi n wi n

scenar i o, wher e you r e get t i ng bot h heal t h and

educat i on benef i t s, you r e act ual l y pr ovi di ng t hat

par ent a gr eat er i ncent i ve t o send t hei r ki ds t o

school .

So, you know, t hey asked Wi l l i e Sut t on why

he robs banks, and he says, you know, t hat s where the

money i s. Wel l , you know, i f you have a smart heal t h

i nt er vent i on, i t i s a l ot easi er , you know, and you

have t o do i t door by door i n r ur al Af r i ca, i t s a l ot

easi er i f al l t hose chi l dr en come t o one bui l di ng at a

par t of t he day at a young age. So I t hi nk t hat t he

i ncent i ve i ssues are t hat we ve l ear ned f or pr i mar y

educat i on, we al so have t o under st and f or pr eschool .

Now, t he ot her i ssue t hat comes up i s, of

cour se, r esour ces. And, of cour se, I wi l l st ar t wi t h

al l t he caveat s, t hat i t i s not al l about money, but I

wi l l al so r emi nd you of a l i ne Pr esi dent Cl i nt on used


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t o al ways say, whi ch i s, whenever somebody t el l s you

i t s not about money, t he onl y thi ng you know f or sure

i s t hat t hey r e t al ki ng about somebody el se s pr obl em.

The f act i s t hat you can t expand you

can t doubl e your school popul at i on. You can t go i n

t her e and say, wow, t her e s onl y 15 per cent of ki ds

get t i ng pr eschool , I d l i ke t o get t hi s t o 45 per cent .

You can t t r i pl e t hat on pur e ef f i ci ency wi t hout at

l east doubl i ng your number of t eacher s.

And now her e s t he t r i cky par t f or al l of us

i n devel opment ; books can be a one t i me cost , t abl es

can be a one t i me cost , but sal ar i es are a r ecur r ent

cost . And we i n t he devel opment cont ext have never

done ver y wel l at actual l y t hi nki ng about how we gi ve

t he conf i dence f or count r i es t o expand t hei r t eachi ng

cores, because our f undi ng t ends t o come i n thr ee or

f our or f i ve year schemes.

And i f you l ook at what s happeni ng on the

pr i mar y educat i on si de, a l ot of t he educat i on

mi ni st er s ar e doi ng t he r i ght t hi ng, t hey r e

el i mi nat i ng f ees, t hey r e get t i ng mor e ki ds i nt o


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school , and t he f i nance mi ni st er s are sayi ng, ar e you

cr azy, we r e not hi r i ng 20, 000 we r e not goi ng t o

hi r e 20, 000 more t eacher s because our donor s gave us a

t hr ee year pot of money, because i n t he year i t s

goi ng t o t ake us t o r ecr ui t t hem, t r ai n t hem, and

depl oy t hem, t he money coul d r un out , and we r e not

havi ng 20, 000 unhappy t eacher s pr otest i ng out si de our

bui l di ng. And so i f we do not deal wi t h t hat ki nd of

l ong t er m i ssue, and I t hi nk par t of i t i s recur r ent

cost , but t hen I t hi nk anot her par t of i t i s anot her

i ssue t hat I t hi nk st ar t s segwayi ng i nt o t he U. S.

cont ext .

When you hel p preschool educat i on, whet her

i t s i n t he Uni t ed St at es or i n Af r i ca, you ar e

hel pi ng t he economy of your successor s successor s

successor . I t s a gr eat t hi ng i f you do t hat , but

i t s not t he way most pol i t i ci ans t hi nk anywher e.

So when a pol i t i ci an i s wi l l i ng t o do t hi s

gr eat t hi ng, you at l east have t o l et t hem know t hat

t hey r e goi ng t o be suppor t ed. And i f r i ght now

somebody were t o say, boy, I went t o t he Wol f ensohn


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Cent er and I hear d al l t hi s and I m goi ng t o have, you

know, 70 per cent of my ki ds t aki ng pr eschool , I don t

know where t hey woul d have t he conf i dence t hat i f t hey

t ook t hi s st ep, t hey woul d not j ust expand

expect at i ons i n t hei r count r y, and t hat t hey woul d

have any cer t ai nt y t hat over a f i ve or t en year

per i od.

So I t hi nk when you hear Pr i me Mi ni st er

Gordon Br own tal ki ng about t he i mport ance of l ong ter m

pr edi ctabl e f undi ng, i t s not j ust a f r ame, i t af f ects

behavi or , and t hat al i gns t he l ong t er m i ncent i ves.

Now, I l l j ust say qui ckl y, t hi s i s mor e l i ke f l aggi ng

your book, except i t s f l aggi ng a publ i cat i on. I have

been I have a paper comi ng out now cal l ed A Global

Fund for Education, whi ch i s r eal l y si mpl y j ust

updat i ng t he gl obal ar chi t ect ur e f or educat i on and

t al ki ng about t he need t o do t hese t hi ngs. And i t i s

not r ei nvent i ng t he wheel , i t i s l ooki ng at wher e t he

Fast Tr ack I ni t i at i ve i s ri ght now and bui l di ng of f

i t s consi der abl e successes, but al so l ooki ng at t hese

i ssues of l ong t er m cer t ai nt y, of maki ng sur e t hat we


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have a st r ong compact f or t he hi gh per f ormi ng

count r i es, but t hat we al so have mor e i nt er i m

str at egi es f or chi l dr en i n conf l i ct and f r om f r agi l e

st at es. That i s a l onger t er m i ssue t hat devi at es

beyond pr eschool , so I wi l l j ust si mpl y f l ag t hat .

But I wi l l say i t i s i nt erest i ng t hat , i n

t he Fast Tr ack I ni t i at i ve, t hat t he Fast Tr ack

I ni t i at i ve suppor t ed Mol dova, i ncl udi ng a pr eschool

educat i on component , even t hough on t he pr i mary. And

so I t hi nk t hi s i dea t hat now somebody even comi ng

f or war d wi t h a uni ver sal pr i mar y pl an, t hat t hey can

see t hat a pr eschool component i s par t of qual i t y

educat i on l ear ni ng, i s al r eady t her e. And i n t he end,

we ar e goi ng t o have t o rel y on count r i es comi ng

f or war d wi t h pl ans. And so maybe what we si mpl y have

t o do i s open t hat door more and make sur e t hat i n new

pr oposal s, l i ke what I m pr oposi ng f or t he Gl obal Fund

f or Educat i on or t he l egi sl at i on on t he Hi l l , t he

Educat i on f or Al l Act , t hat t hat i s i ncor por at ed.

Now, t he l ast t hi ng I m goi ng t o say i s, I m goi ng t o


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31

put my U. S. hat on and I m goi ng t o j ust make t hr ee

poi nt s.

Number one, we ar e a hor r i bl e exampl e f or

t he r est of t he wor l d. I mean i t i s j ust , you know, I

don t know how we go pl aces and t al k about uni ver sal

educat i on; I mean I t hi nk i t s embar r assi ng I t hi nk

i t s embar r assi ng.

I mean, you know, you r e goi ng t o count r i es t hat have

$300 per capi t a, and we r e i n a count r y wi t h, you

know, t he near hi ghest per capi t a i n t he wor l d, and

we r e l i ke, you ought t o get al l your poor ki ds i n

educat i on, don t you see t he r et ur n.

So I mean t hi s i s an ar ea where we ve got t o

get our own house i n or der i f we r e goi ng t o have a

bi t of gl obal l eader shi p, because i t s j ust not ver y

i t s a l i t t l e awkwar d t o be gi vi ng t hi s pi t ch t o

devel opi ng count r i es. And we are ver y much t he l i ke

t he exampl es I ve t al ked about .

I ve been ei ght year s i n t he U. S.

government ; l et me t el l you how much l obbyi ng i s t he

di f f er ence bet ween t he t r anspor t at i on r eaut hor i zat i on


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32

and a Head St art r eaut hor i zat i on. Man, when t her e s a

t r anspor t at i on r eaut hor i zat i on, i f I m gi vi ng a t al k,

I can t get over t o the shr i mp di sh wi t hout f i ve

l obbyi st s comi ng up t o me. That doesn t qui t e happen

on ear l y pr e K. The second i ssue i s t hat t her e s j ust

a t er r i bl e doubl e st andar d i n t he Uni t ed St at es on

pr ogr ams f or poor peopl e, t her e i s, and I l l t el l you

what i t i s .

I f you r e t al ki ng about a cancer r esear ch,

or you r e t al ki ng about a weapon r esear ch, i f i t s not

wor ki ng, wel l , what do we have t o do mor e, what do we

have t o do more t o f i x t hat . So i f you can show wi t h

your r esear ch t hat somet hi ng i s not wor ki ng wel l

enough, i t s an i mpetus t o ki nd of come back and do

more, because peopl e have ki nd of accept ed t he goal

t hat we have t o pr ot ect our sel ves and we have t o cur e

cancer .

Now, we have t o bui l d i nt o our pol i t i cal

syst em t hat our ent i r e f abr i c of our count r y, t he

ent i r e f abr i c of Ben Frankl i n s vi ew of us as a

count r y, wher e your out comes i n l i f e ar e not


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33

det er mi ned by t he acci dent of your bi r t h ar e

compl et el y dependent on t he deck not bei ng st acked so

f ar agai nst you by the t i me you r e f i ve years ol d and

can r easonabl y be seen t o t ake personal

r esponsi bi l i t y. And somehow we have t o bui l d up i n

our syst em t he ki nd of expect at i on t hat t hat i s l i ke

cur i ng cancer , et cet era, so t hat when somebody comes

up wi t h somethi ng negat i ve about a Head St ar t st udy,

i t s not bei ng used at i t i s now, i t s bei ng used i n

t he pol i t i cal syst em now as a reason t o do l ess, as a

r eason t o cut . And what j ust ki l l s me about t hi s i s

t hat ever y t i me t her e s a st udy that s a bi t negat i ve,

I l l be honest , most of us go on t he def ense.

We go on t he def ense because t he peopl e

doi ng t hose st udi es are usi ng t hi s doubl e st andar d

wher e, when i t s f or poor chi l dr en, i f i t s not

wor ki ng per f ect l y, t hat s a r eason t o do l ess. I f

t her e s not enough f ol l ow t hr ough, t hat s not a reason

t o do mor e i n f i r st , second, t hi r d, f our t h gr ade,

t hat s a r eason t o do l ess pr eschool .


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I f t he t eacher s ar en t equi pped enough,

t hat s not a reason t o spend wel l more t o have col l ege

educat ed t eacher s or bet t er t r ai ned t eacher s, i t s a

r eason t o do l ess. So we have t o beat t he doubl e

st andar d.

So my f i nal poi nt i s, and t hi s i s, I want t o

be st r ai ght on t hi s, anybody who thi nks t hat wi nni ng

budget f i ght s i s about get t i ng an over whel mi ng

maj or i t y of peopl e t o suppor t your posi t i on, you ar e

wr ong, you r e j ust dead wr ong, and you bet t er

under st and t hi s. Wi nni ng budget f i ght s i s about

i nt ensi t y, not number s. I ve been t hr ough ei ght

I ve had a box seat on ei ght Uni t ed St at es budget s,

and l et me tel l you, havi ng 95 per cent of t he Amer i can

publ i c f or somet hi ng doesn t do anythi ng f or you.

What does somethi ng f or you i s an i nt ense gr oup t hat

wi l l br eak eggs t o make i t happen, t hat wi l l puni sh

peopl e pol i t i cal l y who don t make i t happen, and shi ne

gl ory on t hem i f t hey do make i t happen.

Now, you know, we ve seen Bono, and peopl e

do a gr eat j ob on debt r el i ef , on t aki ng an i ssue, di d


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not have over whel mi ng publ i c support i n t he count r y,

but maki ng cl ear t her e was goi ng t o be some

puni shment , and maki ng cl ear t her e was goi ng t o be

some gl or y whet her you were good or bad.

So I m happy t o hear t hat t her e s l ot s of

busi ness suppor t , but , you know, i t doesn t f eel ki nd

of l i ke peopl e l i ke t he aut o CEO s f i ght i ng f or t hei r

r el i ef . And l et me t el l you how budget s ar e. I mean

budget s are, you get down t o the ver y end, and I l l

t el l you, you know, t he way I was abl e t o do wel l on

Head St art was, you get down t o that f i nal day of t he

f i nal appr opr i at i ons, and you come i nt o a r oom, and

i t s a ver y smal l r oom, and you deci de what are the

seven or ei ght or ni ne thi ngs t hat your OMB di r ect or

i s goi ng t o go t o t he wal l on. And he can al most

al ways get whatever your t op seven or ei ght t hi ngs

are. So i f number t en or 11 i s support ed by 98

per cent of t he publ i c, i t doesn t mean anyt hi ng, i t s

about t he i nt ensi t y. And when peopl e st ar t usi ng t hat

i nt ensi t y and actual l y commi t t i ng some peopl e t o

r eal l y advocat e and t o r eal l y puni sh and t o r eal l y


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pr ovi de gl or y, t hen we l l st ar t t o get some thi ngs

done. Thank you.

MS. LOMBARDI : Not a bad banker , woul d you

say. Wel l , t hank you. I m j ust r eal l y del i ght ed t o

be her e. I want t o st ar t by t hanki ng Char l es Kol b and

El ai ne and J i m Wol f ensohn, who, among so many i ssues

t hey coul d have chosen, chose t o f ocus on ear l y

chi l dhood, and t hey f ound t i me t o do i t i n such a

t hought f ul way.

And t o shar e t he podi um wi t h Rut h Levi ne,

who s got such amazi ng exper t i se on heal t h i ssues, and

Gene, whose absol ut e dedi cat ed l eadershi p on

i nt er nat i onal educat i on and chi l dr en i n conf l i ct, al l

I can say i s, young chi l dr en ar e bl essed t o have t hem

on our t eam, and I d ask you t o thank t hem wi t h me.

I have t he pl easur e of bei ng one of t he l ast

speakers, and so when you do t hat , you have a moment

t o ref l ect and summar i ze some of t he t houghts t hat

you ve hear d, t he good t hought s t hat you ve hear d

t hr oughout t he day. And I m goi ng t o be br i ef ,

because I know [ t her e are] quest i ons out t her e. But I


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want t o tal k about t hr ee t hemes I hear d and t hen t hr ee

act i on i t ems. As ever yone knows, I m pr et t y i nt ense

mysel f , so I coul dn t l eave her e wi t hout some r equest s

f or act i on.

I t hi nk what we hear d t hr oughout t he

conf er ence t hat was r ef l ect ed i n t hi s pr esent at i on,

Rut h, and Gene, and cer t ai nl y Cl yde and Chl oe ear l i er

i n t he day, i s t hi s i nt egr at i on of heal t h and

educat i on.

One of t he t hi ngs t hat make t hi s i ssue so

di f f i cul t t o t al k about i s , i t s not one t hi ng. I

l oved Rut h s anal ysi s, usi ng a bi cycl e, t wo wheel er s.

I n t he ear l y chi l dhood wor l d we t al k about t r i cycl es,

and t he r eason we t al k about t hr ee t hi ngs, we t al k

about heal t h, educat i on, and t he pi ece t hat s been

l ess t al ked about t hr oughout t he day i s f ami l y

economi c secur i t y and i t s i mpact on t he ear l y year s,

and qui t e f r ankl y, mat er nal educat i on.

And we know t hat bot h f ami l y economi c

secur i t y and mater nal educat i on are pr obabl y t he two

best pr edi ct or s of how young chi l dr en ar e goi ng t o do.


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So when we t al k about ear l y chi l dhood, we have t o t al k

about t hose t hr ee wheel s wor ki ng toget her , and that s

what makes i t chal l engi ng at t he nat i onal l evel or at

t he st at e l evel or at t he pr ovi nci al l evel or at t he

l ocal l evel , because get t i ng t hose mi ni st r i es t o wor k

t oget her , al t hough we r e maki ng pr ogr ess, t he r eason

we want t hat t o happen i s not j ust because ear l y

chi l dhood peopl e l i ke peopl e t o wor k t oget her and pl ay

ni ce t oget her , i t s because of what J ack and Cl yde

t al ked about t hi s mor ni ng, and t hat i s t he domai ns of

devel opment ar e i nt egr ated. So you can t spl i t t hese

t hi ngs apart and t hi nk you r e goi ng t o make a

di f f er ence.

So one t heme we ve hear d t hroughout t he day

i s thi s i nt egr at ed appr oach. A good f r i end of mi ne,

Lar r y Aber , who does a l ot of wr i t i ng about t hi s,

t al ks says t he sci ence of ear l y chi l dhood i s as

per suasi ve as t he sci ence of cl i mate change. And he

t al ks about i t because t hey r e bot h syst ems. So you

can t af f ect one pi ece wi t hout af f ect i ng t he ot her .

So t hat s one t heme we ve hear d t hr oughout t he day.


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Secondl y i s t hi s i dea of wher e we st ar t i n

ear l y chi l dhood. And I t hi nk t hat Chl oe r eal l y nai l ed

i t t hi s mor ni ng when she t al ked about i nver t i ng t he

pyr ami d. We ar e not t al ki ng about f i ni shi ng ser vi ng

al l t he ki ds at t he pr i mary l evel and t hen movi ng down

a gr ade, t hat s not what we r e t al ki ng about . We r e

t al ki ng about what t hey t al ked about i n Dakar , whi ch

i s, l ear ni ng begi ns at bi r t h, and I woul d ar gue i t

begi ns wi t h payi ng at t ent i on t o mot her s dur i ng t hei r

pr enat al car e per i od. So we ar e i t was ver y

i nt er est i ng f or me, because I worked and f ol l owed both

t he school r eadi ness i ndi cat or s wor k her e i n t he U. S.

and t he Educat i on f or Al l Goal s t hat emer ged

i nt er nat i onal l y, and t hey wer e cast ver y di f f er ent l y.

Her e we tal k about school r eadi ness, and so

t hat t er m made peopl e t hi nk, okay, af t er you get

t hr ough ki nder gart en, you go down t o t he next l evel .

I n t he i nt er nat i onal wor l d, t hey t al k about l ear ni ng

begi ns at bi r t h. And I t hi nk you have t hat l ook up

f r om t he ver y ear l i est year s.


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I don t t hi nk we want t o wai t unt i l we t ake

car e of al l t he pr i mar y ki ds, and t hen t ake car e of

al l t he f i ve year ol ds, and t hen t ake car e of al l t he

f our year ol ds. We ve got t o be t hi nki ng about t hese

t hi ngs si mul t aneousl y. Now, I am, you know, ver y

awar e of what Gene was sayi ng about i f we doubl e t he

number of chi l dr en goi ng t o school by i ncl udi ng t he

whol e age r ange, t he capaci t y i ssues, t he r esour ce

i ssues are t r emendous. One of our probl ems i s we have

t o t hi nk new ways about t hi s. Thi s i s not j ust t he

Mi ni st er of Educat i on who has t o t ake car e of t hi s,

t hi s has got t o be a col l abor at i ve appr oach acr oss t he

mi ni st r i es, and we ve got t o i nvol ve communi t y based

pr ovi der s. We heard Chl oe t al k t hi s morni ng about t he

t housands of communi t y based pr ovi ders i n Mal awi ; t hey

ar e par t of t he pi ct ur e. We don t have t o st ar t new

pr eschool s; we have t o i nt egr at e qual i t y i nt o t hose

set t i ngs wher e chi l dr en al r eady ar e.

So t hi s not i on of i nver t i ng t he pyrami d and

st ar t i ng at bi r t h or pr enat al l y i s a t heme t hat I


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t hi nk was r ef l ect ed dur i ng t he day, but I t hi nk we

have t o be mor e i nt ensi ve about i t .

Fi nal l y, on t he t hemat i c si de, we hear d a

l ot of r esear ch, I hope, and I was r eal l y happy t o

hear some of t he resear ch ci t ed f r om t he devel opi ng

wor l d, t hat we r eal l y st ar t t al ki ng much more about

t he J amai ca st udy, whi ch has l ong t er m data t hat shows

t hat t he combi nat i on of ear l y st i mul at i on and ear l y

nut r i t i on r eal l y makes a di f f er ence. And I under st and

t hey ar e l ooki ng at cost benef i t anal ysi s. I t s t i me

f or us t o have a di al ogue about t hi s t hat s

nor t h/ sout h, t hat s sout h/ sout h, and t hat we use some

of t he dat a that s emer gi ng and hel p i nt egr at e t he

economi c argument out of t hat dat a. We do need a

t r emendous amount more resear ch, I acknowl edge t hat .

But what J ack al ways t el l s us i s, we have t he sci ence,

t he sci ence i s cl ear , t he sci ence i s cl ear t hat t hi s

i s an ar ea we have t o pay at t ent i on t o, eval uat i on i s

r eal l y t o t el l us how t o do i t and how t o do i t best ,

and we cer t ai nl y need mor e of t hat , we need mor e

scal i ng up st udi es, and I t hi nk the wor k that t he


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Wol f ensohn Cent er i s doi ng now, t o l ook at what i s

worki ng i n ear l y chi l dhood, wher e t hey at t empt ed t o

scal e i t up, i s real l y i mpor t ant .

So those are t he t hr ee t hemes, i nt egr ated

chi l d devel opment , st ar t i ng f r om bi r t h up, and t he

need t o l ook at more r esearch f r om t he devel opi ng

wor l d, par t i cul ar l y I t hi nk was wer e t hi ngs t hat

wer e r ef l ect ed dur i ng t he day.

So what do I t hi nk shoul d happen? I am j ust

del i ght ed that t he busi ness communi t y i s i nt er est ed.

I can say f r om my per spect i ve her e i n t he U. S. , we

woul d not have made as much progress , al t hough we have

not made as much pr ogr ess as I want , we woul d not have

made the pr ogr ess t hat we ve made so f ar i f i t wasn t

f or t he busi ness communi t y, t he l aw enf orcement

communi t y, and many ot her non- t r adi t i onal ear l y

chi l dhood f r i ends st eppi ng f or war d.

We wer e tal ki ng i n t he back of t he room

t oday when the I BM r epr esent at i ve was t al ki ng about

t he need t o br i ng more busi ness voi ces t ogether , and

we were scr i bbl i ng on a pi ece of paper t hat we want ed


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gl obal busi ness al l i ance f or ear l y chi l dhood

devel opment , and so I t hi nk t oday, her e at Br ooki ngs,

and wi t h al l of you, I woul d cal l f or t hat , a gl obal

busi ness al l i ance f or ear l y chi l dhood t hat woul d begi n

t o rai se t he voi ce of mor e peopl e about t hi s i ssue.

He sai d to us we have t o have a goal and I

t hi nk t hat s absol ut el y t r ue. I t i s too bad t hat t he

Mi l l enni um Devel opment Goal i s r el at ed t o ear l y

chi l dhood, but i t s not st r ong enough i n how i t

expl ai ns t he i nt er r el at i on among al l t hose par t s. And

Nerper I know you ve been suggest i ng us t o t hi nk about

t hat when we go i nt o di scussi ons about t he Mi l l enni um

Devel opment Goal s and 2015.

We need a goal . We ar e maki ng some pr ogr ess

on i ndi cat or s. You heard t hi s mor ni ng t he UNI CEF i s

l ooki ng at put t i ng some chi l d devel opment i ndi cat or s

i nt o t hei r dat a col l ect i on syst em. We ar e l ooki ng at

new ways t o col l ect and devel op cumul at i ve r i sk

i ndexes t hat can gi ve us a pi ct ur e of what chi l d

devel opment l ooks l i ke.


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The most successf ul ef f or t I t hi nk t oday has

been t he Lancet Ser i es, wher e they act ual l y sai d, we

have 200 mi l l i on chi l dr en whose devel opment i s at

r i sk, so at l east we have a number . I woul d ar gue, i f

t he busi ness communi t y want s a goal , t hat we shoul d

cut t hat number at l east i n hal f over t he next decade

bef or e I r et i r e, si nce I can t r et i r e now anyway. But

we need t hat ki nd of t hi nki ng. We need a much mor e

concr et e goal t han we ve had. Af t er t he Educat i on f or

Al l Gl obal Moni t or i ng Repor t on ear l y chi l dhood came

out t wo year s ago, t he consul t at i ve gr oup, and those

of you who don t know t he consul t at i ve gr oup bel i eves

her e, who does t he Coor di nat or s not ebook, i t s an

i nt er nat i onal net wor k of ear l y chi l dhood or gani zat i ons

whi ch has r epr esent at i ves f r om al l t he mul t i l at er al

donor s, as wel l as t he regi onal net wor ks around t he

wor l d. They ve done i ncr edi bl e wor k si nce 1983, I

t hi nk.

We got t ogether as a coal i t i on and sai d what

do we want , because i f we can t ar t i cul at e what we

want , how wi l l anybody el se be abl e t o hel p us do i t .


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And we est abl i shed t hese cor nerst ones t hat we ve been

advocat i ng f or . We woul d l i ke, on a zer o t o t hr ee

si de, bet t er l i nkages bet ween heal t h and parent i ng, so

t hat we r e not j ust t al ki ng about i mmuni zat i on, we r e

t al ki ng about ear l y st i mul at i on. We woul d l i ke at

l east t wo year s of pr e- pr i mar y or ear l y chi l dhood

devel opment , and t hat was a hard one t o come t o

consensus about . We woul d l i ke pr i mar y t he f i r st

t hr ee year s of pr i mar y school t o l ook bet t er t han i t

l ooks now. A hundr ed chi l dr en i n a cl assr oom, 80

chi l dr en i n a cl assr oom i s not goi ng t o get t he

qual i t y t hat Gene was t al ki ng about . So we want

pr i mar y t eacher s t hat ar e t r ai ned i n chi l d

devel opment , t he cl asses smal l er , and we want concr ete

mat er i al s i n t hei r hands so t hey can r eal l y l ear n t he

way we know t hey shoul d. And on t he pol i cy si de, we

cer t ai nl y want ear l y chi l dhood to be t hought of when

we r e devel opi ng pover t y reduct i on st r at egi es, when

we r e doi ng FTI pl ans, when we r e doi ng heal t h pl ans,

when we r e doi ng nat i onal pl anni ng on HI V AI DS.


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So t hese ar e t he ki nds of concr et e goal s

t hat I t hi nk we need. To get t her e, we cer t ai nl y need

new i nvest ments. We had some numbers, t al ked about

t he new publ i cat i on t hat Rut h hel d up, t hat Emi l y

Vargas- Baron, who s al so wi t h us her e, worked so hard

on, was an at t empt t o t r y t o put t ogether some

number s.

We have not been ver y good as a communi t y i n

sayi ng how much woul d t hi s cost . When t he Gl obal

Moni t or i ng Report came out on ear l y chi l dhood, t hey

sai d an ext r a bi l l i on f or ear l y chi l dhood. Wel l , you

know, I bet i f we pushed r eal har d, i t woul d be har d

t o see wher e t hat i t s a ver y smal l number f r om our

per spect i ve, but at l east i t s a number , we wer e

t hr i l l ed t o have a number . I ve been spendi ng a l ot

of t i me t al ki ng t o our wonder f ul f r i ends at Doct or s

Wi t hout Bor der s, about what t hey t hi nk nut r i t i on cost s

woul d be. They est i mat e t hat i t woul d cost a bi l l i on

and a hal f dol l ar s a year j ust t o t r eat sever e

mal nut r i t i on. That s not t he pr event i on si de, and


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t hey r e worki ng on a number about what i t woul d cost

on t he pr event i on si de.

The f act t hat we ve got 30 40 percent of

chi l dr en st i l l st unt ed, t hat ar e not get t i ng adequat e

nut r i t i on bet ween si x mont hs and t wo years, i s a

t r avest y as bad as l et t i ng chi l dr en di e.

And so we need t o be f ocusi ng mor e on t hat

i nvest ment and f i gur i ng out wi t h economi st s, and

economi st s f r om t he devel opi ng wor l d, how we can cost

t hese t hi ngs out . So my hope f or t he Gl obal Busi ness

Al l i ance f or ear l y chi l dhood i s t hat you hel p us set a

goal , and t hat goal shoul d be at l east hal f , and t hi s

i s my r ecommendat i on of f t he t op of my head, at l east

hal vi ng t he number of chi l dr en t hat ar e at r i sk f or

devel opment , t hat we shoul d do a bet t er j ob of

i nvest i ng and i ncr ease t hose i nvest ment s, and we need

t o wor k wi t h you on t hat , about est abl i shi ng bet t er

number s, gl obal l y, i nt er nat i onal l y, and t hat we shoul d

be t hi nki ng as we go i nt o t he f i nal year s of l ooki ng

at how we ve done i n t he Mi l l enni um Devel opment Goal s,

and I know we have not done near l y as wel l as we


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shoul d have been, but t hi nki ng harder about ear l y

chi l dhood. Thi s conf er ence makes me opt i mi st i c. I t

makes me opt i mi st i c because i t s publ i c and pr i vat e,

because i t s heal t h and educat i on and f ami l i es,

because i t s zer o t o t hr ee i n pr i mar y, and of cour se,

we can t f orget secondary, because secondary ef f ect s

chi l dr ens devel opment , and because i t s goi ng beyond

chi l d survi val .

I t i s t he r evol ut i on of t he new chi l d

sur vi val movement , whi ch i s chi l d sur vi val and

devel opment . We know, f i nal l y, t hat more chi l dr en are

sur vi vi ng, and i t s our mor al r esponsi bi l i t y t o not

j ust l et t hem survi ve, but t o have t hem t hr i ve and

r each t hei r f ul l pot ent i al . Thank you.

MR. KOLB: We r e goi ng t o have a f ew mi nut es

f or quest i ons. And as t he Moder at or , I want t o open

i t up, and I want t o go back t o somethi ng t hat Gene

sai d and ask al l of t he panel i st s i f t hey want t o

comment on i t or not comment on i t as t he case may be.

But , Gene, you used t he t er m i nt ensi t y,

and you poi nt ed out , i n t he case of t he Uni t ed St at es,


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t hat we r e a hor r i bl e exampl e and we have a doubl e

st andard wi t h r egard t o pr ogr ams f or poor peopl e.

Wel l , her e s t he hypot het i cal quest i on; suppose we had

a pr esi dent who deci ded that he was t i r ed of bei ng a

hor r i bl e exampl e and of t hi s doubl e st andar d; t o what

ext ent coul d pr esi dent i al l eader shi p al t er t he

cal cul us of i nt ensi t y?

And t hen t he second quest i on i s, i s t her e a

par al l el r esul t wi t h r egar d t o i nt ensi t y i n t he

i nt er nat i onal cont ext ?

MR. SPERLI NG: Wel l , you know, I t hi nk

pr esi dent i al l eader shi p woul d be huge. I t hi nk t hese

t hi ngs ar e symbi ot i c, however , i n t he f ol l owi ng; you

I mean when I t hi nk of t hi s pr esi dent , I m r emi nded of

Mar i o Cuomo, who I used t o work f or , t hat when God

want s t o puni sh you, he gr ant s you your wi shes.

I mean t hi s pr esi dent has such an enormous

amount on t he pl ate that and t hi s i s wher e the

suppor t comes i n, t hat i t s not j ust r eal l y a mat t er

of ki nd of what you car e about t he most , you make an


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assessment of whet her you t hi nk you can get somet hi ng

done.

So, you know, a pr esi dent can deci de he

r eal l y want s t o l ead on i ssue X, but i f he doesn t see

t he gr ound t r oops out t her e, t her e s no short age of

compel l i ng pr obl ems i n t he wor l d, and par t of t hat i s

goi ng t o i s goi ng t o be, you know, t hat sense of

whether somet hi ng i s doabl e, whet her i t can get done,

what t he degr ee of suppor t i s. I t hi nk t he, you know,

I mean f i r st of al l , I r eal l y do want t o compl i ment

you and what CED has done and what Rob Dugger and what

J i m i s doi ng now, et cet er a. I mean I t hi nk I woul d

l ove t o be back f i ght i ng f or t hese i ssues and have

t hat degr ee of ammuni cat i on and val i dat i on, so ther e

r eal l y ar e di f f er ent t hi ngs.

I mean I t hi nk you need a I t hi nk what t he

pr esi dent coul d do i s ki nd of f r ame t he moral argument

i n a way t hat ki nd of f ai l ur e i s not an opt i on. And I

t hi nk t hat t o ki nd of f r ame t hi s not i on t hat we r e not

a count r y that bel i eves t hat your out come i n l i f e

shoul d be det er mi ned on t he acci dent of your bi r t h and


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l i nk that deepl y wi t h Amer i can val ues so t hat t hat

ki nd of set s an over al l f r ame.

When my book came out and I was on t he r adi o

and I was doi ng a l ot of shows, I mean I f ound I

r eal l y had t o st r uggl e on t hese i ssues, and I f ound a

l ot of i t was ki nd of ol d, ki nd of wel f ar e debat es.

I t was al most har d t o i sol at e t he chi l d. You know, at

t i mes I had t o say t o cal l er s, okay, wel l , f i ne, l et s

say t hat par ent i sn t such a gr eat par ent , you know,

don t you car e about t hat chi l d, doesn t t hat chi l d

have a chance? I t hi nk t he Pr esi dent coul d ki nd of

set t hat t one. I al so t hi nk t hat , you know, a

pr esi dent sees t he ki nd of busi ness suppor t out t her e,

I t hi nk wher e t hat woul d be ver y hel pf ul , par t i cul ar l y

f or a democrat i c pr esi dent , i s, when t he charge comes,

ar en t you j ust doi ng a bunch of bi g spendi ng. To be

abl e t o ci t e t op busi ness gr oups, I BM, et cet er a, t hat

of f ers I t hi nk i n some ways t hat becomes more

i mport ant t o a pr ogr essi ve pr esi dent who i s who

coul d be more vul ner abl e to t he charge of t he bi g

spendi ng.


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So I t hi nk i t i s ver y, you know, I t hi nk i t

i s symbi ot i c i n t hat sense, and, you know, and I t hi nk

you can ki nd of wai t f or pr esi dent i al l eader shi p, or

you can al so l et t hem know t hat i f you want t o l ead,

you know, you ve got t r oops behi nd you.

And, you know, when t here s a bi g t r ade

agr eement t hat busi ness cares about , you know, t hey

l et peopl e know, you know, we r e goi ng t o I mean t o

t he l evel of sayi ng we r e goi ng t o set up a war r oom,

we r e goi ng t o spend t hi s much money, you know, on

ads, we wi l l def end member s of Congress who get

at t acked f or suppor t i ng i t , I mean you see t hat l evel

of t hi ng. So, agai n, I t hi nk, you know, I mean t hi s

pr esi dent , I t hi nk Pr esi dent El ect r eal l y bel i eves i n

t hi s, I t hi nk he s been ver y ef f ect ed by t he ki nd of

suppor t and t he dat a that s out t her e, and I t hi nk he

woul d pr obabl y l ove t o have i t be par t of hi s l egacy.

But , you know, can you i magi ne bei ng around t he

meet i ngs r i ght now, and you r e l ooki ng at f i nanci al

cri si s, you r e l ooki ng at gl obal r ecessi on, you r e

l ooki ng at heal t h car e, you r e l ooki ng at cl i mat e


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change, you ve got t o f i x Fanni e and Freddi e, you

know, you need yeah, I mean you need a bi t of

i nt ensi t y and a real sense that t hi s woul d be

somet hi ng t hat coul d get done, not j ust i f i t s

i mpor t ant , but t hat i t s act ual l y wor t h doi ng, t hat

t hi s coul d act ual l y be a l egacy i t em t hat can be

achi eved.

MR. KOLB: J oan or Ruth, do you want t o

comment domest i cal l y or i nt er nat i onal l y or bot h?

MS. LOMBARDI : You know, i t s cl ear t hat

l eader shi p, bot h i n t he publ i c sect or and i n t he

pr i vat e sect or , I t hi nk i f we l ook at Chi l e and we see

what Pr esi dent Bachel et has done, made an enor mous

di f f er ence on t hi s i ssue, and we coul d name sever al

ot her count r i es wher e l eader shi p made a di f f er ence. I

woul d al so say, t hough, we ve got t he r eason I m

exci t ed about t he busi ness communi t y bei ng i nvol ved,

i t s r eal l y i mpor t ant t o keep t hi s a bi par t i san i ssue

t hat cr osses admi ni st r at i ons. I , you know, Gene

ment i oned we had wonder f ul successes dur i ng our years

and then had t o watch as t hat di mi ni shed over t he l ast


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f ew year s, so i t s r eal l y i mpor t ant t o keep t hi s br oad

spect r um of suppor t , but obvi ousl y l eader shi p, as

we ve seen i n t he UK, where t hey ve r eal l y made

si gni f i cant i nvest ment s over t he l ast f ew year s, so I

t hi nk bot h i s i mpor t ant .

MR. KOLB: Rut h.

MS. LEVI NE: Yeah, j ust br i ef l y. You know,

i n t he i nt er nat i onal spher e, I t hi nk ther e i s al ways

t hat t endency t o f ocus on mobi l i zi ng donor r esour ces

agai nst br oad gl obal goal s t hat ar e set i n, you know,

Washi ngt on and New Yor k, and maybe somet i mes i n

Geneva.

And f or t hi s i ssue f or many i ssues, but

f or t hi s i ssue i n par t i cul ar , you know, I t hi nk of

ear l y chi l dhood devel opment as bei ng sor t of deepl y

r evol ut i onar y, because your i f educat i on i s a way to

sor t of r epr oduce soci et y, whi ch i t cl ear l y i s, t hat s

sor t of i t s pr i mar y pr i mar i l y what i t does, t hen

maki ng f undament al changes i n t he or gani zat i on and

access t o educat i on t hat di spr opor t i onat el y benef i t s

t he poor and mar gi nal i zed popul at i ons i s r eal l y a


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r evol ut i onar y t hi ng t o do. And so i t s goi ng t o be a

r el at i vel y unusual l eader shi p i n many devel opi ng

count r i es t hat s goi ng t o embr ace t hat i dea. And so

f i ndi ng t hose l eader s who r eal l y have i t as t hei r

goal , t he l egacy t hey wi sh t o l eave i n t hei r

count r i es, and wor ki ng wi t h t hem, I t hi nk i s r eal l y,

you know, i t s a t al l order , but i t s i t s I t hi nk a

more l ast i ng and subst ant i ve agenda t han l obbyi ng f or

no of f ense, i t s gr eat t o have goal s, I t hi nk i t s

i mpor t ant , but t he r eal wor k i s a count r y t o est abl i sh

i t as nat i onal pr i or i t i es i n a f undament al way, not

j ust r espondi ng t o what donor s t oday or t omor r ow t hi nk

i s a good i dea.

MR. KOLB: Thank you. Let s go t o t he f l oor

f or quest i ons, and we l l t ake one or t wo, and t hen I

wi l l t ur n t he pr ogr am over t o J i m Wol f ensohn. Yes,

s i r .

SPEAKER: Yes, t hank you. Two comments;

f i r st , we seem t o be usi ng t he t er ms, ear l y chi l dhood

educat i on, pr eschool educat i on, and ear l y chi l dhood

devel opment i nt er changeabl y, and I t hi nk we shoul d


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not . I t hi nk t hey r e ver y di f f er ent appr oaches,

di f f er ent modal i t i es, di f f er ent const i t uenci es,

di f f er ent del i ver y syst ems, et cet er a. We pr obabl y

need both, but I t hi nk we shoul d be cl ear whi ch one

we r e t al ki ng about .

The ot her comment i s, I r eal l y don t

under st and why we f eel t he need t o redo research on

i ssues t hat wer e pr et t y soundl y est abl i shed at l east

20 years ago. I don t under st and why we need t o do

r esear ch t o demonst r at e that i odi ne def i ci ency and

i r on anemi a have ef f ect s on chi l dr ens l ear ni ng, i t

seems i t j ust doesn t make any sense t o me, t hose

ar e wel l est abl i shed.

But I woul d l i ke t o ask t he panel , anybody I

guess, maybe J oan Lombar di , are we more const r ai ned by

t echni cal debat es as t o what works or are we more

const r ai ned by l ack of consensus as t o what modal i t i es

wor k and how t o do t he sai d scal e?

MS. LOMBARDI : Wel l , I t hi nk Ruth woul d al so

want t o comment on t hat , and I t hi nk we r e ar e we

const r ai ned? I t hi nk we r e chal l enged by bot h. I


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t hi nk t her e s a l ot of conf usi on, j ust as you r ai sed,

about what i t i s we r e t al ki ng about her e. You know,

we use a l ot of t er ms. We ar e r eal l y sever el y

chal l enged by our nomencl at ur e i n t hi s f i el d, because

we can never deci de, i s i t pr eschool , i s i t ear l y

chi l dhood devel opment , i s i t ear l y chi l dhood

educat i on.

I use t he t er m ear l y chi l dhood devel opment

because I have a devel opment al perspect i ve t hat

i ncl udes t he r ange of t hi ngs t hat ef f ect young

chi l dr en. So I t hi nk t hat i s a chal l enge, t hat s one

of t he chal l enges. I don t know, Rut h, i f you want t o

comment on t he research si de of t hi s and

MS. LEVI NE: Maybe I l l j ust say a wor d

about t hat . I t hi nk t her e i s a r eal l y st r ong

i nt er act i on bet ween t he doi ng of par t i cul ar ki nds of

r esear ch and advanci ng pol i cy i n par t i cul ar cont ext s.

So l et me j ust gi ve maybe a somewhat anal ogous

exampl e, and t hat i s t obacco cont r ol , so you l l wonder

why that s anal ogous, but i t s because, wel l , of

cour se, i t s ver y wel l est abl i shed t hat smoki ng i s bad


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f or your heal t h, r i ght , I mean t hat s we ve known

t hat f or many decades.

But i n Sout h Af r i ca, i n Pol and, and i n ot her

count r i es, i t wasn t unt i l some of t he r esear ch about

t he magni t ude of t he probl em, some est i mat es about t he

i mpact on t hose popul at i ons done by i ndi genous,

l ocal l y based and r espect ed r esear cher s, i t wasn t

unt i l t hat happened, you know, bui l di ng on

i nt er nat i onal l y, you know, accept ed st udi es and so

f or t h, but i t wasn t unt i l t hat happened, al ong wi t h a

f ew other t hi ngs, t hat r eal pr ogr ess was made t oward

t he ki nds of l egi sl at i on and so f or t h t hat l ed t o

i ncr edi bl e successes i n t hose count r i es i n t obacco

cont r ol . So I t hi nk t her e s an i nt er acti on, and i t s

not qui t e enough t o say we al r eady know t hat , we have

t o move on. I t hi nk, you know, and I m not t r yi ng t o,

you know, pr each or l ect ur e at you, but t hat s what s

goi ng t hrough my mi nd i n t erms of par t of wher e the

r esear ch agenda i s.

MR. KOLB: Can we sneak i n t wo qui ck

quest i ons? The l ady t her e and t hen J ack Shonkof f ,


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quest i ons, no speeches, because we want t o st ay on

schedul e. Thank you.

SPEAKER: Okay. I t s a comment , but i t s

Vi ct or i a - - Gl obal Fund f or Chi l dr en, and I have

r eal l y enj oyed t oday, but I f eel l i ke I got a gr eat

r esear ch case, bot h i n t er ms of sci ence, economi cs,

and pol i cy, and I m r eal l y and even some gr eat

busi ness exampl es of i ntervent i on and engagement , but

I m r eal l y mi ssi ng somet hi ng ar ound t he pr ogr ams.

And I t hi nk good progr ams can be t he best

advocacy. And t o add t o J oan s charge of t hi ngs we

need t o do, one of my f avor i t e publ i cat i ons, and I

t hi nk i t i s f r om t he Cent er f or Gl obal Devel opment , i s

mi l l i ons saved ar ound publ i c heal t h pr ogr am

i nt er vent i ons, f r om many count r i es, wher e we ve t aken

gr eat model s t o scal e, and I d l i ke t o add t hat t o

t hose char ges.

MR. KOLB: Woul d you hand t he [ mi cr ophone]

t o J ack? We r e goi ng t o get both quest i ons on t he

f l oor and t hen - -


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MS. LOMBARDI : Wel l , can I j ust r espond t o

Vi ct or i a, because I t hi nk i t s a gr eat poi nt ? We have

a t endency i n our f i el d, i n t he ear l y chi l dhood f i el d,

t o wr i t e about gr eat exampl es f or our sel ves, and we

haven t we haven t put t hem out t her e i n t he publ i c

I t hi nk t he way t he heal t h communi t y has, so I t hi nk

t hat s a gr eat suggest i on.

MR. KOLB: J ack, and t hen we l l go t o

MR. SCHONKOFF: J ust a qui ck comment . I

t hi nk i t r eal l y - - and i t comes back t o t he egg

cracki ng i ssue. You know, I t hi nk t hi s i s a

conf er ence today about t he rol e of t he busi ness

communi t y, and I t hi nk we ve t ended t o t hi nk of t hat

most l y i n t er ms of t he i nf l uence busi ness execut i ves

have when i t s t i me f or egg cr acki ng, t o deci de wher e

t he money goes.

But t her e s anot her whol e ar ea of exper t i se

t he f i el d desper at el y needs t hat t he busi ness

communi t y has, and i t r el at es t o al l of t hese t hi ngs.

Let s t hi nk of ear l y chi l dhood devel opment educat i on

as a real l y gr eat i dea t hat coul d be a bi g hi t and


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t hat coul d r eal l y be ver y successf ul . What i t needs

i s, i t has some pr ot ot ypes t hat ar e showi ng a l ot of

pr omi se and t hat r eal l y wor k. But what t hi s f i el d has

cont i nued t o not do wel l t hat

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20081204 Global Child Development