The Promise of Preschool in Africa: A Randomized Impact Evaluation of Early Childhood Development in Rural Mozambique

The new World Bank report ‘The Promise of Preschool in Africa: A Randomized Impact Evaluation of Early Childhood Development in Rural Mozambique’, shows that early childhood programs help children thrive and learn more in rural Africa. Children in rural Mozambique, who attended preschool programs run by Save the Children, were 24 percent more likely to enroll in primary school and were significantly better equipped to learn than children not covered by the program. The World Bank Study is the first such evaluation of early childhood development programs in Africa, where entrenched poverty means that 61 percent of children under the age of five years do not grow and learn to their full potential. Across the region, children’s poor health and nutrition, along with too little mental stimulation in their early years of life, frequently mean they are sick more, learn less, and start school later than children who join early education programs like Save the Children’s in Mozambique.