Early Childhood Development to Build Tajikistan’s Human Capital Project

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The objective of the Early Childhood Development to Build Tajikistan's Human Capital Project for Tajikistan is to increase utilization of a basic package of health and preschool education services for 0 to 6 year old children. The Project has four components. 1. Strengthening capacity to deliver the Basic Package (BP) of Early Childhood Development (ECD) services component has five subcomponents. 1.1. Update and development of the guidelines, programs, materials and resources for implementation of a BP of services for improved ECD outcomes subcomponent will: (a) Develop a BP Manual; (b) Update and standardize prenatal care guidelines; (c) Update the national Child Growth and Development Monitoring (CGDM) Program; (d) Review and adapt the curricula, equipment specifications, and teaching and learning materials for existing and alternative preschool models; (e) Review and redesign the preschool construction. 1.2. Staff training subcomponent will strengthen knowledge and capacity of staff to oversee and implement the BP through training and study visits. 1.3. Development of a national monitoring and evaluation system on ECD and evaluation of the project interventions subcomponent will support government’s capacity to measure and evaluate child development outcomes. 1.4. Supporting financing reforms for enhanced services that promote improved ECD outcomes subcomponent will support the introduction of program-based budgeting in district and urban primary health care facilities, including the revision of the budget and expenditure categories that would support the implementation of program-based budgeting by aligning the separate functional category for PHC with the package of services those facilities should offer. 1.5. Development of an ECD regulatory framework, including governance, financing mechanism, and staffing subcomponent will support the development of a regulatory framework that would: (a) create an enabling environment for multi-sectoral ECD service delivery; (b) identify relevant stakeholders and articulate their roles and responsibilities; and (c) establish national integrated ECD leadership and coordinating structure. 2. Implementing nationwide selected elements of the Basic Package component will support nationwide implementation of elements of the BP through Social and Behavioral Change Communications (SBCC) and roll out of the CGDM Program. This will be achieved through two sub-components. 2.1. Social and Behavioral Change Communications subcomponent will focus on the importance of child development which constitutes a significant shift in mindset at different levels of the system: government officials, health and education workers, communities, and families. 2.2. Nationwide implementation of child developmental monitoring subcomponent will finance the production and distribution of materials for the implementation of the updated ambulatory card for pregnant women, and for the implementation of the updated CGDM Program. 3. Improving access to the Basic Package in targeted districts component will support local administrations and communities in targeted districts in developing, implementing and monitoring their ECD plans which are aligned with the goals of the BP. This will be achieved through four sub-components: 3.1. Development of district ECD plans; 3.2. Implementation of district ECD plans; 3.3. Monitoring the implementation progress at district and mahalla level; and 3.4. Strengthening local accountability and citizen engagement. 4. Project management and coordination component will provide support for the execution of project management and coordination activities.