Using the latest available evidence, this report summarizes the impact of the pandemic on services essential for young children’s development: For example, that the number of children younger than 5 years visiting community health centres in Viet Nam dropped by 48 per cent; that in Indonesia, more than 50 per cent of households reported not being able to meet their family’s nutritional needs; or that in the Philippines, more than 80 per cent of households experienced a decrease in their household income. Households facing disadvantages before COVID-19 – those with young children, those living in rural and remote areas and low-income households – are in most cases more disproportionally affected by the pandemic.

UNICEF in East Asia and the Pacific continues to help families and their young children in these pandemic times develop to their full potential by supporting governments to provide continuity of early childhood development services. UNICEF country offices across the region continue to implement early childhood development interventions to ensure that young children have access to holistic interventions that respond to their essential needs throughout their first eight years of life.