The Early Childhood Care and Development in Emergencies Global Technical Group (ECCD GTG) participated in the Inter Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) Annual Consultation that took place in Istanbul in early April, 2009. This Annual Consultation was an opportunity for the ECCD GTG to discuss ECCD implications to programming and Monitoring and Evaluation in emergencies, and permitted drafting an action plan to move ECCD forward within emergency responses.

During the Consultation working session entitled “The Path of Most Resilience: Early childhood care and development in emergencies”, the ECCD GTG had the opportunity to share information around the potential of ECCD to mitigate the impact of emergencies on young children and their families with a large audience (about 200 participant experts in Education in Emergencies). Promising practices from specific case studies were presented by different speakers and discussions were held on how to collaborate with health, education and protection colleagues/sectors to ensure ECCD is included in their emergency response plans. The ECCD GTG also examined implications for programming ECCD in emergencies and developing Monitoring and Evaluation systems which enhance global knowledge and capacity in ECCD in Emergencies. Lastly, the consultation sought to build capacity in the field through the revision of the INEE Minimum Standards to include ECCD guidance.