As noted in the Global Humanitarian Overview 2025, as humanitarian needs exponentially grow and budgets are increasingly constrained, humanitarians are working harder than ever to prioritize assistance for the people and contexts who need it most. In an era of boundary setting, there is a necessity to hone in on the most efficient and effective programming.

Every dollar invested in Early Childhood Development (ECD) can yield significant social and economic returns, depending on the program and context, as evidenced by actors including the World Bank, Brookings Institution, and the research of economist Dr. James Heckman. In humanitarian crises, such investments are even more critical as they provide a pathway to resilience, equity, and long-term stability for the most vulnerable children and their communities.

This session will delve into the cost data behind interventions that integrate health, nutrition, education, and protection to benefit outcomes for families. We will showcase evidence from AhlanSimsim and Play to Learn, an innovative set of early childhood programs operating in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, and Bangladesh, that have reached millions of children and caregivers with transformative support. Building on the insights from A Small Price to Pay and other research studies, this session will illustrate how early childhood interventions are an ethical necessity and economically wise decisions in crisis settings.

Through this dialogue, participants will explore outcome-based funding and evidence-based strategies that maximize impact, understanding what works, for whom, and at what cost, particularly for the most vulnerable. This discussion will aim to align funding priorities with locally-led, sustainable, and scalable programming in humanitarian settings

Join us to explore how investing in children today creates a future of equity, resilience, and opportunity for crisis-affected communities worldwide.