Integrated Early Childhood Development Project

The development objective of the Integrated Early Childhood Development (ECD) Project is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of cash transfer programs for vulnerable populations, including pregnant women and children up to 48 months, and to increase their access to early childhood development services in targeted areas of Argentina. This project has four components. The first component, Improving cash transfer programs for households with pregnant women and children up to 48 months, will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the GoA’s cash transfer programs Universal Pregnancy Allowanc (AUE), Universal Child Allowance (AUH) for children up to 48 months of age, Nutritional Supplemental Allowance (ACN), and Comprehensive Health Care Allowance (ACSI). The second component, Enhancing access to prioritized ECD services for vulnerable populations, has the following sub-components: (i) Enhancing the capacities for the management of Federal Program for Early Childhoood (PFPI) at the national level; (ii) Support for quality improvement of Early Childhood Development Centers (CDI) in prioritized districts; and (iii) Support the expansion of Family Support Services in prioritized districts. The third component, Strengthening integration of human capital information systems, will contribute to improve targeting of social benefits in Argentina and for the first time move toward the creation of an integrated social registry, leveraging existing systems and parallel financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The fourth component, Support for the Ministry of Human Capital (MCH) in project management, will support the General Directorate of Sectoral and Special Programs and Project (DGPYPSYE) capacity in financial management (FM), procurement, environmental and social (E&S), and monitoring functions, and the technical verification for Components 1 and 2.