Enabling childhoods: a unique opportunity for early childhood in Armenia

Despite reasonably high economic growth in recent years, many countries in the Central Eastern Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) region struggle to achieve high national standards to guarantee basic rights for all their citizens. Families with young children are particularly vulnerable and are often unable to provide a stable and conducive environment for children and young persons to thrive. These disparities have emerged largely on account of failure of public policy to protect vulnerable families, counter the threat of social exclusion and promote equity. As a middle income country in the region, Armenia has maintained a reasonable level of economic growth and social development, though significant inequalities persist. Noting that current demographic trends present a unique opportunity to Armenian policy-makers to invest in equitable and meaningful opportunities for all children, this paper argues for adoption of a comprehensive early intervention approach to scaffold those most at risk and make a lasting difference to the lives of all children.