At the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Early Childhood Development in the Philippines, held from July 1st to 3rd, 2025, the National Coalition of Holistic Integrative ECD (HI ECD Coalition) of Indonesia and the ECCD Council of the Philippines presented evidence-based findings on the effectiveness of enhanced parenting and caregiving programs.

Mega Indrawati, a representative of the HI ECD Coalition, shared how the baseline findings guided the improvement of Indonesia’s BKB EMAS, a parenting and caregiving program by the Family Planning Board of the Government of Indonesia. The program’s objective was to enhance the nutrition status of young children, particularly addressing stunting, with the help of parents and caregivers.

In Depok City and TTU, pilot sites of the MORECare4YoungChildren Project, community-level evidence for system and delivery improvements was generated. These improvements included the development of competencies among the local workforce and other stakeholders.

Indrawati emphasised that the preferred learning duration based on baseline feedback was 10-15 minutes, and that urban communities favoured online learning. Following community consultations, six modules of the BKB EMAS underwent modifications, including the creation of advocacy materials and targeted dialogues with local officials and stakeholders.

As a result of these initiatives, over 400 parents and caregivers participated in structured learning sessions. Local governments facilitated venue access and community mobilisation to support the program’s implementation in Indonesia.

Moreover, the Municipality of Cainta, a local government partner of the ECCD Council in the implementation of the MORECare4YoungChildren project in the Philippines, presented local reforms to support early childhood care and development at the community level.

In addition to establishing child development centres, recruiting more Child Development Teachers and Workers, and professionalising the local workforce, the Municipal Government of Cainta also emphasised implementing the Infant-Toddler Early Development (ITED) Program for young children aged 0-2, the most recent addition to Cainta’s ECCD services.

ITED is a parenting and caregiving program that aims to strengthen the bond between children and their parents or caregivers and enhance the development of young children through age-appropriate developmental activities.

During another panel discussion at the ARNEC Conference, Zikri Dwi Darmawan, the head of Pancoran Mas in Depok City and a local government partner of the HI ECD Coalition, shared insights on the role of local governance in ensuring accessible, high-quality, and equitable early childhood development services, particularly through the MORECare4YoungChildren Project in Indonesia.

The HI ECD Coalition and the ECCD Council are partners of ARNEC in the MORECare4YoungChildren Project, which is supported by the UBS Optimus Foundation.