Strengthening families and early childhood development in post-war Sierra Leone

The Family Strengthening Intervention for Early Childhood Development and Violence Prevention (FSI-ECD+VP) has been tested and scaled in post-genocide Rwanda, where it is known as Sugira Muryango. Now the team at the Research Program on Children and Adversity (RPCA), founded by Theresa S. Betancourt at Harvard and later expanded at Boston College, is adapting FSI-ECD+VP for use in Sierra Leone. The intervention, which aims to reduce family violence and boost early childhood development in families facing extreme poverty and post-conflict challenges, has been put through the ADAPT-ITT framework, a sequential process to adapt evidence-based interventions. FSI-ECD+VP has been tested in Sierra Leone through a mixed methods open trial, for an initial assessment of feasibility, acceptability and potential scaling pathways. RPCA has a particular focus on the long-lasting effects of war on society. In Sierra Leone it runs the Intergenerational Study on War-Affected Youth (ISWAY), a study of former child soldiers and other war-affected youth in Sierra Leone, which has been ongoing since 2002. The study has followed 529 male and female children impacted by Sierra Leone’s Civil War (1991-2002), and a majority of the sample were children associated with armed forces and armed groups (CAAFAG). The most recent wave of ISWAY data collection included a sample of participants who have become parents of young children under the age of seven. This data was used to investigate the relationships between parental stress (related to past war experiences and more recent hardships), parental mental health, parenting practices and child development. Children exposed to war-related violence can have changes in emotion regulation and mental health problems in adulthood. This may shape the way they parent and care for their own children, potentially affecting children’s development. In the context of the intergenerational impact of war, it is especially important to promote violence reduction and healthy family functioning and child development, especially in the earliest years of life. One of the more consistent findings of ISWAY is that toxic stress exposure is linked to poor mental health that is worsened by daily hardships, low social support and low access to schooling and life opportunities. These hardships pose challenges for parenting practices and family functioning. These are the kinds of challenges that FSI-ECD+VP is designed to address. Join Lauren Pisani, Associate Director for Research at RPCA, and Melody Martin, Deputy Director of Early Childhood Development & Primary Education at Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, for a discussion of research findings, policy implications and scaling potential, hosted by Marlies Morsink, Thrive Deputy Programme Director. About the series This discussion series from Thrive brings together policymakers, practitioners and researchers to explore the latest evidence related to scaling early childhood development programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Conversations will explore the key takeaways from research highlighted in the Thrive What to Read newsletter and delve into how new evidence can help to inform diverse policy and research agendas associated with scaling. Attendees can take part in live Q&As with leading experts and be part of a growing community of knowledge shaping the future of early childhood development programming. www.thrivechildevidence.org