A series of 3 papers on child development in developing countries indicate that developmental potential is being lost in more than 200 million children in low income countries1,2,3. These papers identify not only the enormity of the problem, they point to documented risk factors.. It is not surprising that the treatment programs that appear to have the best impact on cognitive development are those that 1) provide direct learning experiences to children; 2) target young and disadvantaged children and 3) are high quality, intense and long term and integrated with family support, health and educational systems.
These multi-authored papers provide a clear and rich source of data for anyone wishing to study the complex relationships between this devastating societal problem and possible risk factors.
I hope that many young low-income country scientists will devote their talents to this problem and use http://www.mother-child.org to expedite their involvement and impact. One research strategy would be to design preventive treatment trials which could yield information on cause while measuring impact of treatment; any such trial demands unusually rigorous attention to defining control groups and their management.
What do people think about the problem and possible strategies for doing something about it?
1. S. Grantham-McGregor et al. Lancet 369: 60-70, 2007
2. S.P. Walker et al. Lancet 369 : 145-157,2007
3. P.L. Engle et al. Lancet 369 : 229-242, 2007