2026-07-01http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/411919This report presents an analysis of the early childhood development (ECD) programs and policies that affect young children in Jamaica and recommendations to move forward. This report is part of a series of reports prepared by the World Bank using the systems approach for better education results (SABER)-ECD framework and includes analysis of early learning, health, nutrition, and social and child protection policies and interventions in Jamaica, along with regional and international comparisons. In 2003, the early childhood commission (ECC) was established as a body corporate reporting to the Minister of Education and Youth with responsibility to coordinate the various sectors involved in ECD and oversee the quality of early childhood institutions (ECIs). As of 2013, the Government of Jamaica (GoJ) is in the process of developing a new national strategic plan (2013-2017) as well as a national multi-sector ECD policy. The present SABER-ECD analysis is intended to identify achievements, as well as gaps, in Jamaican ECD policies and programs in hopes of informing the development of the new plan.application/pdftext/plainCC BY 3.0 IGOhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ACCREDITATION SYSTEMADULT POPULATIONAGE COHORTAGEDANTENATAL CAREANTENATAL VISITSBABIESBABYBIRTH REGISTRATIONBREASTFEEDINGCARE FOR CHILDRENCAREGIVERSCHILD ABUSECHILD CARECHILD DEVELOPMENTCHILD HEALTHCHILD PROTECTIONCHILDCARECHILDREN WITH DISABILITIESCLASSROOMSCLINICSCOGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTCOMMUNITY HEALTHCOMMUNITY SCHOOLSCURRICULUMDEVELOPMENT POLICYDEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIESDISABILITIESDISABILITYDISABLED CHILDRENDOMESTIC ABUSEEARLY CHILDHOODEARLY CHILDHOOD CAREEARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENTEARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMSEARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATIONEARLY CHILDHOOD PRACTITIONERSEARLY IDENTIFICATIONEARLY INTERVENTIONEARLY LEARNINGEARLY STIMULATIONECCEECDECD POLICIESECD PROGRAMSEDUCATION GOALSEDUCATION SECTOREDUCATION SERVICESEFFECTIVE POLICIESEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENTENFORCEMENT MECHANISMSENROLLMENT RATEENROLLMENT RATESEQUAL OPPORTUNITIESEQUITABLE ACCESSFAMILIESFAMILY HEALTHFAMILY LEAVEFAMILY SUPPORTFOLIC ACIDFOOD SUPPLEMENTSFUNDAMENTAL RIGHTSGENDERGIRLSGLOBAL HEALTHGOVERNMENT SUPPORTGROSS ENROLLMENTGROSS ENROLLMENT RATIOGROSS NATIONAL INCOMEGROWTH MONITORINGHEALTH CAREHEALTH CENTERSHEALTH INTERVENTIONSHEALTH OUTCOMESHEALTH POLICYHEALTH PROMOTIONHEALTH PROVIDERSHEALTH SECTORHEALTH SERVICESHIVHOLISTIC DEVELOPMENTHOME VISITINGHOME VISITSHOSPITALHOSPITALSHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHYGIENEILLNESSILLNESSESIMMUNIZATIONIMMUNIZATIONSINFANTINFANT MORTALITYINFANT SCHOOLSINFANTSINFORMATION SYSTEMINTEGRATED ASSESSMENTINTERNATIONAL COMPARISONSINTERVENTIONIRONKINDERGARTENLAWSLEADING CAUSESLEARNINGLEARNING OPPORTUNITIESLEARNING OUTCOMESLEVEL OF DEVELOPMENTLIFE CYCLELIVE BIRTHSLIVING CONDITIONSLOCAL GOVERNMENTSLOW BIRTH WEIGHTMANDATESMARKETINGMATERNITY LEAVEMEDICAL ATTENTIONMINISTRY OF HEALTHMINISTRY OF LABOURMORTALITYMOTHERMOTHER-TO-CHILDMOTHER-TO-CHILD TRANSMISSIONNATIONAL LAWNATIONAL LAWSNATIONAL LEVELNATIONAL LEVELSNATIONAL POLICYNATIONAL STRATEGYNEWBORNNEWBORN CARENEWBORNSNUMBER OF CHILDRENNURSINGNUTRITIONNUTRITION EDUCATIONOBESITYOCCUPATIONAL THERAPYOFFICIAL POLICYOPERATIONAL FRAMEWORKORPHANSPARENTAL LEAVEPARENTINGPARITYPATERNITY LEAVEPERSONS WITH DISABILITIESPLAN OF ACTIONPLAY GROUPSPOLICY DECISIONSPOLICY DEVELOPMENTPOLICY FRAMEWORKPOLICY GOALSPOLICY LEVELPOLICY LEVERPOPULATION GROUPSPREGNANCIESPREGNANCYPREGNANT WOMENPRENATAL CAREPRENATAL NUTRITIONPREPRIMARY EDUCATIONPREPRIMARY SCHOOL ENROLLMENTPRIMARY EDUCATION SECTORPRIMARY HEALTHCAREPROGRESSPUBLIC EDUCATIONPUBLIC EXPENDITUREPUBLIC HEALTHPUBLIC HEALTH SERVICESPUBLIC PREPRIMARY SCHOOLSPUBLIC SCHOOLSPURCHASING POWERPURCHASING POWER PARITYQUALITY ASSURANCEQUALITY CAREQUALITY OF SERVICESREGISTRATION OF BIRTHSREGISTRATION OF CHILDRENRIGHTS OF CHILDRENRURAL AREASSANITATIONSANITATION FACILITIESSCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAMSSCHOOL SYSTEMSCHOOL VISITSSCHOOLINGSCREENINGSEGMENTS OF SOCIETYSERVICE DELIVERYSERVICE PROVIDERSSERVICE PROVISIONSKILLED ATTENDANTSKILLED ATTENDANTSSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL PLANNINGSOCIAL POLICYSOCIAL SECURITYSOCIAL WELFARESOCIOECONOMIC STATUSSPECIAL EDUCATIONSPECIAL NEEDSSTDSSUPPORT TO FAMILIESTEACHER EDUCATIONTEACHER TRAININGTEACHER TRAINING COLLEGESTEACHERSTEACHINGTERTIARY EDUCATIONTRAINING OPPORTUNITIESTRANSPORTATIONTUITIONUNIVERSAL ACCESSUNIVERSAL BIRTH REGISTRATIONUNIVERSAL ENROLLMENTURBAN AREASUSER FEESVACCINATIONVACCINESVIOLENCEVOCATIONAL TRAININGVULNERABLE FAMILIESWELLNESSWORKERSYOUNG CHILDYOUNG CHILDRENYOUTH