250 million children under five in low- and middle-income countries remain at risk of not reaching their full developmental potential. Growing evidence shows that nurturing care — a set of conditions that support good health, adequate nutrition, responsive caregiving, early learning, and safety and security — can protect young children from the worst effects of adversity and promote their optimal cognitive, motor and socioemotional development.
Primary health care systems, which are already delivering key health and nutrition interventions to young children through trusted contact points, are well positioned to promote all components of nurturing care, including those that have traditionally fallen outside the scope of PHC.
