Reducing Inequality by Focusing on the Very Young: Boa Vista, Brazil, Deepens its Investment in Early Childhood Development, 2009–2016
Author(s): Princeton University
Language: English
Boa Vista, with a population of around 375,000 in 2018, has an attractive city centre but many poorer neighbourhoods which draw low-income migrants from the surrounding countryside. The mobility of caregivers with young children is challenged by torrential rains in winter and high heat in summer. Before the Urban95 programme existed, Mayor Teresa Surita had set out to make Boa Vista the “Capital of Early Childhood”. She passed municipal laws enshrining early childhood development as part of the city’s mission, and in 2013 instituted a programme called Família que Acolhe (Welcoming Family), providing services such as health checks, parenting classes and day-care.
