225 - How Is Everyone Else Doing? Development Delays Among Children of the Developing World.

Publication Number: 3217.225

Glenda M. Rosas Zuniga, BronxCare Health System, Bronx, NY, United States; Claudia Irey Salgado, BronxCare Health System, New York, NY, United States; Ahmed Metrawy, ALEXANDRIA FACULTY OF MEDICINE, Miami, Al Iskandariyah, Egypt; Yousra Merdjana, Medical Institute of Tambov State University named after G.R. Derzhavin, Russia, Brooklyn, NY, United States; Amr R. Saleh, Kafrelsheikh University Hospitals, Kafrelsheikh, Kafr ash Shaykh, Egypt; Yossef Alnasser, BronxCare Health System, NY, NY, United States

Background: Early childhood development (ECD) establishes the foundation for lifelong health, learning, and well-being. However, many children worldwide do not reach developmental milestones due to social, public health, and structural barriers. The risk of delayed development caused by limited access to early intervention programs may be greater among children in the Global South and other developing regions.

Objective: To analyze trends of high developmental delays in the Global South and Developing World, and to identify factors contributing to early developmental delays while examining regional differences using existing datasets.

Design/Methods: Existing datasets from USAID (pre-shutdown), UNICEF, and the World Bank for 2016–2020 were accessed to gather data on early child development in the Global South and Developing World. From the 64-country dataset, countries with the highest development delay rates across seven regions with complete data were included in the study. Variables including fertility rates, teen pregnancy, infant mortality, under-5 mortality, access to clean water, vaccination coverage, women’s empowerment, and average family income were collected to examine their association with ECD and development delays using the early child development index (ECDI).

Results: The study identified 13 countries in the Global South and Developing World with significant developmental delays: Gambia, Ghana, Eswatini, Rwanda, Tunisia, Qatar, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bhutan, Vietnam, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados. Except for Qatar, all are Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Among five domains — physical, social-emotional, learning, literacy, and ECDI — physical delays were least common, while literacy challenges were most significant. Social-emotional delays ranked second. The most severe developmental delays occurred in Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Trinidad and Tobago, with ECDI scores of 3.2%, 3.3%, 4.4%, and 6%, respectively. Regression analysis showed under-5 mortality as the strongest predictor of poor outcomes, followed by infant mortality and fertility rates. Access to clean water, teen pregnancy, women’s empowerment, family income, and vaccination coverage were not significantly associated with ECDI.

Conclusion(s): LMICs in the Caribbean and Eastern Europe within the Global South demonstrate the highest rates of developmental delay. Literacy and social-emotional deficits are most prevalent, while physical delays are least frequent. Key predictors of developmental delays in these countries include under-5 mortality, infant mortality, and fertility rates.