The Learning for Well-being Institute has joined child rights partners in publishing The Right to a Good Start in Life: A Child’s Right to Holistic Early Child Development.

The report affirms that early childhood development is a fundamental human right under international law. It urges governments to prioritise young children by investing in inclusive systems that guarantee health, learning, protection, and family life—particularly for those in marginalised and crisis-affected settings.

Authored by Dominic Richardson and developed by the Child Rights Connect Taskforce on Inclusive Social Protection, the report has been endorsed by leading child-focused organisations worldwide. It outlines a rights-based roadmap built around three pillars: public investment, cross-sectoral policy integration, and quality implementation.

The publication also makes a strong case for a UN General Assembly resolution on early childhood development and contributes to global efforts for an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, explicitly guaranteeing the right to ECD.

Read the full publication here.