Introduction The debate on why early childhood development matters is already settled. Evidence from science, economics, and lived experiences across Asia and the Pacific consistently shows that the early years shape everything that follows. But the real crisis today is not a lack of evidence—it is lack of visibility. Across the region, millions of children remain absent from data systems, unmeasured in policy dashboards, and therefore invisible in national priorities. While governments increasingly track digital transactions, climate interventions, and artificial intelligence in real time, a child’s development between birth and age five is still not being measured and is rarely funded. As a result, early childhood development sits at the margins of fiscal and policy decisions—despite its foundational importance. Early childhood development describes the physical, cognitive, emotional, and social growth from birth to age five. This period lays the foundation for lifelong health, learning, and productivity, as early experiences shape the brain’s basic architecture. Measuring early childhood development helps track how children are growing, learning, and thriving, ensuring that policy and investment decisions are guided by evidence. This article examines a central question: How can countries count what truly counts in the early years? Why Science Still Fails to Shape Policy Ninety percent of the adult brain develops by age five, making infancy and early childhood the most critical window for building cognitive, emotional, and social skills. During this phase, more than 700 neural connections form each second, later undergoing synaptic “pruning”—strengthening frequently used patterns. Thess processes build the brain’s architecture and lay the foundation for learning, health, and behavior. This critical period of growth is also the most vulnerable. Toxic stress, malnutrition, lead exposure, poor stimulation, and neglect disrupt neural pathways, producing consequences that persist through adulthood—even when circumstances improve later. Neuroscience and developmental economics converge on one truth: Early development is measurable, predictable, and profoundly influenced by policy. However, many countries still cannot answer basic questions: Are young children learning? Are they emotionally secure? Do they have responsive caregivers? Are they developing age-appropriate skills? The challenge lies not in the absence of knowledge, but in the lack of systems that make early childhood development visible to decision-makers. Invisible Crisis: Children Missing from Data Systems Despite decades of programs, investments, and global declarations, the early lives of children remain largely unmeasured. Data systems remain fragmented across ministries, and national surveys that include early childhood development indicators, such as UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys and the Demographic and Health Surveys, are conducted only every five to seven years, frequency that is insufficient to inform timely policy action. Practical tools such as UNICEF’s Early Childhood Development Index and WHO’s Nurturing Care Framework offer structured ways to measure learning, play, and emotional well-being, but their adoption remain limited. By the time the data arrives, entire cohorts of children has transitioned into primary school, and opportunities for early intervention are lost. The absence of developmental data leads to: (i) underestimation of disparities between rich and poor households; (ii) delayed detection of developmental delays and disabilities; (iii) fragmented responses across health, education, and social protection; and (iv) early childhood development remaining absent from fiscal decisions, because it is absent from dashboards. The Lancet in 2016 stresses that the absence of data perpetuates political invisibility.” Its 2024 update calls for integrated monitoring from pregnancy through age five, underscoring that when early childhood development is missing from dashboards, it is also missing from budgets. Why Measuring Is Complex—But Necessary Unlike school enrollment, immunization, or stunting rates, developmental milestones such as secure attachment, early stimulation, and age-appropriate emotional skills are difficult to capture consistently. This invisibility reflects several systemic challenges: Multidimensional complexity. Early childhood development spans cognitive, physical, emotional, and social domains. Responsibility is divided across health, education, and social protection sectors, leaving no single institution accountable for comprehensive measurement. Outcomes occur in homes, not institutions. Language, cognition, and socioemotional growth unfold in home and community settings, making them difficult to quantify consistently. Limited and fragmented tools. Developmental milestones vary by age and culture, making it difficult to establish universal standards or apply consistent benchmarks across countries. Resource and capacity constraints. Measuring non-anthropometric indicators requires skilled assessors, time, and funding. Many countries lack the capacity to integrate such measures into national systems. Policy and political gaps. Governments often prioritize internationally comparable indicators such as stunting or mortality over complex developmental outcomes that are harder to measure and less politically visible. As a result, millions of children remain invisible in data and policy, their struggles unrecorded in GDP figures or national dashboards. Without early detection, developmental delays are often recognized only when they manifest as poor school readiness, disability, or lost productivity. Countries Are Breaking the Silence Despite challenges, several economies are beginning to break this pattern by institutionalizing early childhood development monitoring within their governance and digital ecosystems: Mongolia integrates early childhood development indicators into national surveys. Bhutan uses a holistic early childhood development scorecard to guide investments. The Philippines monitors early childhood services through a national care system. Indonesia’s Posyandu network pilots caregiver engagement and developmental tracking tools. Viet Nam links preschool quality data with developmental milestones. India’s Meghalaya early childhood development mission integrates maternal, nutrition, and childcare indicators across departments—a rare example of multisectoral data convergence. These innovations show what is possible when early childhood development measurement is elevated from a technical exercise to a governance priority. From Counting Children to Making Children Count To make every child count, countries must move from fragmented monitoring to integrated, actionable data systems that connect ministries and communities. Building comprehensive early childhood development data systems requires multisectoral collaboration, adequate financing, and strong governance. Governments and partners should: Establish a national early childhood development governance mechanism bringing together departments to coordinate policy, share data, and align budgets. Embed early childhood development indicators into health, education, and social protection monitoring frameworks. Invest in digital, community-based tools for real-time data collection. Build accountability mechanisms linking early childhood development outcomes with policy financing. Use data not just for reporting, but for action. Measurement is the bridge between investment and impact. By strengthening how early childhood development is measured, countries can better align policy attention and resources with the developmental needs of young children—ensuring that every dollar spent translates into measurable progress for children. Future early childhood efforts must focus not only on expanding services, but also on measuring what matters most—the development of every child. Resources B. Daelmans et al. 2017. Early Childhood Development: The Foundation of Sustainable Development. The Lancet. 389 (10064). pp. 9–11. C. Draper et al. 2024. The Next 1000 Days: Building on Early Investments for the Health and Development of Young Children. The Lancet. 404 (10467). pp. 2094–2116. S. Morris and D. Arora. 2025. Small Kids, Big Payoffs: The Hidden Economics of Growing Up Healthy. Asian Development Blog. UNICEF. Early Childhood Development Index 2030. World Health Organization. Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development. Ask the Experts Dinesh Arora Principal Health Specialist, Human and Social Development Sector Office, Sectors Department 3, Asian Development Bank Dinesh Arora has more than 20 years of experience leading transformative public projects in Asia and the Pacific. His career centers on evidence-based strategies for pressing health challenges. Credited with revamping health services in Kerala, India, he has led quality accreditation, established key institutions, and pioneered the world's largest publicly funded health insurance scheme. At ADB, he manages diverse projects, focusing on health, climate, and pandemic preparedness. A Chevening Scholar with a master's in economics, he is pursuing a health policy doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. Follow Dinesh Arora on Aastha Arora Public Health and Nutrition Expert (Consultant), Asian Development Bank Aastha Arora has over 15 years of experience strengthening health systems across South and Central Asia. At ADB, she works on integrated approaches linking mental health, early childhood development, primary care, climate resilience and One Health. She previously served with the World Bank, Government of India, and UNICEF, leading programs on adolescent health, health financing and nutrition. Her work centers on evidence-driven policy, multisectoral collaboration, and designing systems that advance equity and human development. Follow Aastha Arora on Asian Development Bank (ADB) The Asian Development Bank is a leading multilateral development bank supporting sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth across Asia and the Pacific. Working with its members and partners to solve complex challenges together, ADB harnesses innovative financial tools and strategic partnerships to transform lives, build quality infrastructure, and safeguard our planet. Founded in 1966, ADB is owned by 69 members—49 from the region. Follow Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Leave your question or comment in the section below: View the discussion thread.