Situation Analysis on Early Childhood Intervention in North Macedonia

New UNICEF study calls for cross-sectoral services for early childhood intervention. Focusing on children aged 0-6 years with development delays and disabilities, the report highlights the need for greater cross-sectoral support to families and children.

The Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners came together to discuss the findings and recommendations of a new study that examines early childhood intervention services for children with development delays and disabilities.

The Situation Analysis of Early Childhood Interventions in North Macedonia provides insights into programmes and services available in the country.  Among other things the study highlights that the scarcity and unavailability of early childhood developmental screenings and early childhood intervention services at the national level, results in a high proportion of children in at-risk situations, developmental delays and/or disabilities going unrecognized and unserved.

The Situation Analysis highlights that in cases where children have received developmental screenings, parents were usually the ones seeking out the service and more often the identification of developmental delays/disabilities was late. Only 44 per cent of children start receiving developmental screening before the age of three. The findings call for a system of Universal Developmental Screening, Assessments and Referrals so that children and families receive timely support.