Short-term funding choices create long-term system costs

Despite this evidence, early childhood education in emergencies is still commonly financed through short-term, siloed funding mechanisms. Early learning is treated as optional — something to be addressed once enrolment has been restored and primary schooling stabilised.

• There is strong evidence that education attainment, learning achievement and vocational training opportunities help young people avoid crime – and those in conflict with the law to be reintegrated into society.
• Invest in early childhood and school education in disadvantaged areas with a high crime propensity and prone to gangs.
• Ensure a dedicated and well-resourced rehabilitation strategy for people in detention, especially for children and young people deprived of their liberty, with education and skills development as a central component.

Early childhood education as system infrastructure

Early childhood education functions as system infrastructure. It stabilizes routines for young children, strengthens caregiver engagement, and maintains links between households and education services during periods of disruption.

When early learning is embedded alongside caregiver support, health and child protection services, it strengthens coordination across system components rather than operating in isolation. By sustaining engagement with families and communities, early childhood education helps preserve the institutional linkages that primary education systems rely on during recovery.