And 40 per cent of poor Brazilian boys who attended pre-school finished primary school, compared to 2 per cent of boys who had not been involved in early educational programmes. Donor countries do not allocate high enough proportions of assistance to basic social services. Nor do developing nations allocate adequate amounts to these crucial services. Few donors direct more than 10 per cent of aid to such services, and in more than 30 countries, the average investment is between 12 per cent and 14 per cent of the budget - far short of what's needed. Another element in releasing resources for human development is to provide relief for developing countries from their crushing debt burden.
Many countries now spend more money on debt servicing than on basic social services.
Changing debt relief to investment in children is key to ending poverty. Early childhood care cannot succeed in a vacuum. Gender discrimination and the relative powerlessness of women in society play a major role in how children are cared for within their homes. Research in Kenya and Malawi found a strong correlation between women's control of their income and a household's caloric intake. Making early childhood care work demands political courage.