The Global Child Development Group, whose secretariat is hosted by the Caribbean Child Development Centre (CCDC) of the University of West Indies’ (UWI) Open Campus, and the Child Development Research Group at the UWI, Mona, will host its working meeting from December 8-11, 2009 at the Breezes Resorts and Spa, Rio Bueno, Jamaica. The meeting is supported by The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvL) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

This group aims to use scientific evidence to promote optimal child development, with a focus on children under the age of five (5) years old in low- and middle-income countries, with a combination of programmes and policies aimed at improving the nutrition, health, cognitive and psycho-social development, education and social protection of young children. The working meeting will review new research and progress in programme implementation and   evaluation since the 2007 Lancet Series on Child Development.

This seminal meeting will provide an opportunity for researchers from several countries, including Bangladesh, India, Jamaica, the USA, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Turkey, among others, to share their research and together with representatives of international agencies, formulate recommendations for programmes and policies to promote optimal early child development.

For further information on the Global Child Development Group, please contact Dr. Priya Anaokar, at priya.anaokar@open.uwi.edu.