azerbaijan saber early childhood development (ecd)...

AZERBAIJAN SABER EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT (ECD) COUNTRY REPORT 2018

Preliminary Findings of the ECD Policy Analysis and

Recommendations

Azerbaijan Human Capital ForumDecember 19-21, 2018

Why is ECD a Priority for Investment?

• Investments in ECD can address early gaps in opportunity.

• Investments in ECD yield long-lasting high returns.

• Investments in ECD can maximize both efficiency and equity.

• ECD investments can help achieve a range of policy objectives.

Context- SABER- ECD

SABER-ECD: Analytical framework

3 policy goals and 3 policy levers:

SABER-ECD: Data Collection Tool

• Includes approximately 130 questions

• Covers sectorial policies in education, health, nutrition and social and child protection

Education

ECD policies

• General ECD Policy Information

Multi-sectorial policiesInstitutional arrangementsCoordination mechanisms

Budget allocation

• Complementary data sources usedWorld Bank’s Women, Business and the Law database

UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey

UNESCO’s Institute for StatisticsWHO’s Global DatabaseWHO’s Global Health Expenditure

Database

Health

Social and

child protection

Nutrition

Snapshot of ECD in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan Bulgaria Georgia Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan RomaniaRussian

FederationUkraine

Under 5 mortality

rate, 2015 32 10 12 21 45 11 10 9

Infant mortality rate

(under 1), 2015 28 9 11 1939

10 8 8

Exclusive

breastfeeding <6

months (%), 2010-2015

12 N/A 55 41 34 16 N/A 20

Moderate & severe

stunting

(%), 2010-201518 9 11 13 27 13 N/A

4

Birth registration

(%), 2010-2015 94 100 100 98 88 N/A 100 100

Net enrollment rate

(3-6-year-olds),

201420.8 82.9

38.7 (2006)

24.1 7.9 84 82 74.5

Policy Goal 1 –

Establishing an Enabling Environment

Policy Level 1.1: Legal Framework

Legal framework to ensure essential ECD services are in place

Early learning

• National laws to promote ECD

Child and social protection

• Employment protection and breastfeeding facilities

• Ensure ECD services to vulnerable children and children with disability

Health

• Guarantee healthcare services for pregnant women

Nutrition

• Safeguard appropriate dietary consumption and improve nutrition intake

Policy Level 1.2: Inter-sectoral Coordination

Positive Features of Inter-sectoral Coordination in Azerbaijan

Ministry of Education (MoE)

Ministry of Health (MoH)

Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of

Populations (MoLSPP)

Key ministries involved in ECD provision

• No regular coordination meetings between the different

implementing actors at the national or sub-national levels

• No multisectoral ECD strategies

Policy Level 1.3: Finance

Government expenditure on preschool education (2015-2016, latest)

Source: UNESCO UIS, 2015-2016

• Public expenditure on

preschool as a percent-age

of government

expenditure on education

is 10.5 percent in 2016

• The government spending

on ECD is one of the

lowest among peer

countries0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

0.70

0.80

0.90

Ta

jikis

tan

Aze

rba

ijan

Rom

an

ia

OE

CD

Kyrg

yzsta

n

Ukra

ine

% T

ota

l gove

rnm

ent

expenditure

on e

ducation

% G

DP

% GDP % Total government expenditure on education

Policy Goal 2 –

Implementing Widely

Policy Level 2.1: Scope of Programs (2/2)

Scope of ECD interventions in Azerbaijan by target population and sector

SectorsParents/

CaregiversPregnant Women

Children(1-3)

Children (3-6)

Social and Child Protection

Conditional cash transfer programs; family cash benefits; paid maternity leave; targeted social assistance for low-income families

Promotion of parent-

child relationship for vulnerable families

Birth registrationHousing and care interventions for vulnerable

children

HealthParenting programs;

home visiting programs

Prenatal and skilled

delivery care; mental health services

Compulsory immunizations; childhood

wellness, growth monitoring and promotion programs

NutritionBreastfeeding

promotionSalt iodization

Exclusive breastfeeding

under 6 months; feeding at ECEC

facilities; micronutrient support; salt iodization

Feeding programs

at preschools; micronutrient

support; salt iodization

Education Parent engagement; family-based ECEC Nurseries

Kindergartens;

School Readiness Program (5-6-year-

olds)

Policy Level 2.2: Coverage (1/3)

Level of access to essential health and nutrition services are below that of peer

countries

0

20

40

60

80

100

Azerbaijan Georgia kyrgystan Ukraine

Percentage of children exclusively breastfed until 6 months old

Percentage of infants with low birth weight

Percentage of households consuming iodized salt

Percentage of children under 5 years old suffering from moderate and severestunting

• Only 36 percent of children

with suspected pneumonia

receive antibiotics

• The percentage of infants

exclusively breastfeeding until 6

months of age is the lowest at 12

percent among regional peers

• Consumption of iodized salt is

low at 54 percent

• The rate of moderate and severe

stunting of children under 5 and

the percentage of infants born

with low birth weights are the

highest


Azerbaijan has one of the lowest levels of ECEC coverage in ECA

8

20 2124 26

41

58 6063

73 75

82 82 82 83 84 8589 90 92

0

20

40

60

80

100

Pre

school

enro

llment

rate

(%

)

Preschool Enrollment Rate (3-to-6 year-olds) 2014/15

ECA Average = 62%


0

2

4

6

25% 50% 75% 100%

Gain

in P

ISA

scie

nce s

core

s

% Students with more than one year of preschool education

Azerbaijan's improvement in PISA reading scores if the proportion of

students with more than one year of preschool education increases

• Better learning outcomes in

Azerbaijan are associated with

more years of preschool

education

• Reaching a 100 percent

preschool coverage would only

increase Azerbaijan’s PISA

performance by 6 points

Increasing both access and

quality in preschool education is key

Policy Level 2.3: Equity

0

20

40

60

80

100

Birth registration (%) Skilled attendant atbirth (%)

Stunting prevalancein children under 5

(%)

Top vs bottom socioeconomic quantiles

Richest 20% Poorest 20%

0

20

40

60

80

100

Birth registration (%) Skilled attendant atbirth (%)

Population usingimproved sanitation

facilities (%)

Urban vs rural

urban Rural

Disparities in Access to ECD services

Source: UNICEF Country Statistics, 2016

• There are notable disparities in access to ECD services by socioeconomic

status and between rural and urban areas

Policy Goal 3—Monitoring and

Assuring Quality

Policy Level 3.1: Data Availability

Positive Features of Data Availability in Azerbaijan

Administrative Data:

Indicator Tracked

ECCE enrollment rates by region ✔

Special needs children enrolled in ECCE (number of) ✔

Children attending well-child visit (number of) ×

Children benefiting from public nutrition intervention (number of) ✔

Women receiving prenatal nutrition interventions ×

Children enrolled in ECCE by sub-national region ✔

Is ECCE spending in education sector differentiated within education budget? ✔

Is ECD spending in health sector differentiated within health budget? ×

Survey Data:

Indicator (%) Tracked

Population consuming iodized salt (%) ✔

Vitamin A Supplementation rate for children 6-59 months (%) ✔

Anemia prevalence amongst pregnant women ✔

Children below the age of 5 registered at birth ✔

Children immunized against DPT3 at age 12 months ✔

Pregnant women who attend four antenatal visits ✔

Children enrolled in ECCE by socioeconomic status ×

Policy Level 3.2: Quality Standards

Standards

Clear learning standards

Registration and accreditation mechanisms

National standards for ECD professionals

Infrastructure standards for ECD facilities

Standards to ensure quality ECD services are in place

Policy Level 3.3: Compliance with Standards

Registration and accreditation mechanisms

National standards for ECD professionals

Infrastructure standards for ECD facilities

Compliance

Clear learning standards N/A

N/A

91% of caregivers meet the educational requirements

100% of public and private kindergartens follow

construction standards

Standards

Key Policy Options and Recommendations

I. Establishing an Enabling

Environment

II. Implementing Widely III. Monitoring and Assuring

Quality

• Design intersectoral ECD

strategy and coordination

mechanism

• Establish budget planning

system to manage

investments across ECD

sectors

• Increase public financing

of early childhood

education (introducing per-

student formulas)

• Expand access to health

and nutrition

interventions to lower

rate of childhood

stunting and low birth

weight

• Develop strategies to

improve ECD

coordination efforts to

accommodate children’s

special needs at service

delivery

• Improve access to ECD

services in rural and low

SES areas

• Expand data collection

to track access to and

quality of ECD services

• Improve the monitoring

and evaluation system to

ensure that service

provision and

infrastructure standards

remain compliant

• Set mandatory training

for all ECCE

professionals

Thank you!

Policy Level 1.3: Finance

Azerbaijan Georgia KyrgyzstanRussian

Federation Ukraine

Out of pocket expenditure as a % of

all private health expenditure (PvtHE)79% 59% 48% 83% 51%

Out of pocket expenditure as % of

total health expenditures79% 57% 48% 31% 48%

General government expenditure on

health as a percentage of GDP1.2% N/A 2.4% 3.5% 3.6%

% of routine EPI vaccines financed by

government, 201078% 78% N/A% N/A N/A

Source: WHO Global Health Expenditure Database, 2011; TransMonEE, 2010; UNICEF Country Statistics, 20101/ A notable portion of the remaining costs are covered by other donors, particularly.

Regional Comparison of select expenditure indicators


Level of access to essential health interventions are below that of peer countries

0

20

40

60

80

100

Azerbaijan Georgia kyrgystan Ukraine

Pregnant women receiving prenatal care (at least four times)

Percentage of children 1 years old immunized against DPT (DPT3ß)

Percentage of children under 5 years old with suspected pneumonia receiving antibiotics

Percentage of children under 5 years old with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration andcontinued feeding

• only 36 percent of children with

suspected pneumonia receive

antibiotics

• 11 percent of children under 5

years old with diarrhea receive

oral rehydration salts


Net preschool enrollment rate (3-6 year-olds) regional comparison

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

20

00

/01

20

01

/02

20

02

/03

20

03

/04

20

04

/05

20

05

/06

20

06

/07

20

07

/08

20

08

/09

20

09

/10

20

10

/11

20

11

/12

20

12

/13

20

13

/14

20

14

/15

Moldova Azerbaijan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Uzbekistan

• In the last 15 years,

the ECA countries

managed to improve

access to preschool

by 16 percentage on

average

• Azerbaijan was

improved with only

about 5 percentage


Azerbaijan’s preschool enrollment rate (3-6-year-olds) lags peers with smaller GDP

per capita (2014/15)

Czech Republic, 84.6

Hungary, 82

Poland, 72.6

Slovenia, 90.1

Estonia, 88.5

Latvia, 91.8

Bulgaria, 82.9 Romania, 84

Croatia, 62.8

Montenegro, 40.7

Serbia, 58

Macedonia, 25.9

Moldova, 82.3

Russia, 81.7Ukraine, 74.5

Azerbaijan 20.8

Kazakhstan, 59.8

Kyrgyzstan, 24.1

Tajikistan, 7.9

Uzbekistan, 19.8

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000

Pre

school

Net

Enro

llment

Rate

GDP Per Capita, PPP

Benchmarking and International Comparison of ECD in Azerbaijan

ECD Policy Goal Policy Lever

Level of Development

Azerbaijan Bulgaria Kyrgyzstan Macedonia Uzbekistan

1. Establishing an

Enabling Environment

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Intersectoral

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Finance lmmm

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Coverage lllm

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Equity lllm

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Assuring Quality

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Quality Standards lllm

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Compliance with

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International Classification and Comparison of ECD Systems

azerbaijan saber early childhood development (ecd)...

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