Peru has accomplished great success in the delivery of maternal and infant services, particularly for the poorest. Perhaps the most remarkable of all is the globally renowned drop in stunting rates, from which many countries are taking and applying lessons to their own contexts.

In 2019, the Government of Peru (GoP) decided to start a ‘second wave’ of reforms to adopt a more integrated Early Childhood Development (ECD) approach, building on the lessons learned and the model applied for nutrition. The new integrated ECD approach rests on 4 pillars: (1) the launch of a multi-sectoral Results-based Budgeting program for ECD (RbB - ECD), linking more than 30 products (services) delivered by several Ministries and levels of Government within a single production line and the attainment of results; (2) the use of incentive mechanisms to ensure that all levels of government effectively allocate resources and monitor delivery; (3) the establishment of a strategy for territorial coordination and management, centered at the local level and channeling resources to the poorest districts in the country; and (4) a reinforcement of the steering role of the Ministry of Social Development and Inclusion (MIDIS) as coordinating agency, but also as the sector responsible to provide timely and useful data to monitor policy outcomes.

The model will be tested in 2 regions of the country in 2020 and was supported by the Bank through the preparation of an “Investing in Human Capital DPO”.

In this session, Minister Ariela Luna from MIDIS shared the road the Government of Peru took to launch this promising new policy phase, the challenges they had to face to attain a final common vision for ECD at all levels of government, the institutional arrangements needed and the Government expectations for this new stage. Likewise, she touched on how the Bank, using policy and investment instruments, can contribute and work with countries to fulfill their visions.