- Mexico will host the 1st Latin American Summit on Early Childhood Investment, which will take place November 10–12. More than 30 countries in the region have been invited to the summit to promote sufficient, sustainable, and equitable investment in the early years of life.
- In Latin America and the Caribbean, 43.7% of children aged 0 to 8 lived in poverty, nearly 15 percentage points higher than the general population (ECLAC and UNICEF, 2022).
- As a result of the Summit, a Regional Declaration on Early Childhood Financing and national investment commitments are expected to be adopted, which the region will present at the 2027 Global Summit
Mexico City, October 5, 2026.— From November 10 to 12, Mexico will host the 1st Latin American Early Childhood Investment Summit 2026, which will bring together top-level officials from the finance and treasury sectors, as well as policymakers responsible for early childhood policies in Latin America and the Caribbean. The common goal: to ensure that commitments to children under the age of 6 in the region are backed by sufficient, sustainable, and results-oriented resources.
Over the course of three days, governments, multilateral organizations, development banks, civil society, academia, and the private sector will engage in dialogue centered on three key themes: the financial architecture for early childhood, comprehensive care as a driver of growth, and corporate shared responsibility in investing in children—all based on a fundamental premise: all public policies, laws, and government commitments require funding that translates them into concrete results for children in early childhood.
The early years of life are a unique window of opportunity. According to Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, during this stage the brain forms more than one million new neural connections per second, and the foundations for lifelong health, learning, and well-being are laid. The economic evidence is just as clear: studies by Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman show that comprehensive, high-quality early childhood programs can generate returns of up to 13% annually (The Heckman Equation, 2016).
Significant gaps remain
Latin America and the Caribbean have made progress in developing early childhood policies; however, deep inequalities persist that limit children’s ability to exercise their rights. Gaps in access to health care, nutrition, social protection, quality care, and education—as well as exposure to various forms of violence—particularly affect those living in rural areas, members of indigenous peoples or Afro-descendant communities, people with disabilities, and those in situations of internal displacement. One of the clearest manifestations of this inequality is poverty: in 2022, 43.7% of children aged 0 to 8 lived in poverty, nearly 15 percentage points higher than the general population.
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This shows that the challenge is not merely to expand services: it is also necessary to know how much is being invested, in what, how resources are distributed, and what results are being achieved. With four years remaining until the 2030 Agenda deadline, achieving Target 4.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—which aims to ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood care and development services and preschool education, as well as the targets related to their health, nutrition, and protection—makes it particularly important to strengthen funding for early childhood to reduce inequalities and effectively guarantee their rights.
Toward a Regional Declaration
The Summit aims to establish a regional voice that positions early childhood as a priority for development, the reduction of inequalities, and the well-being of countries. As a result of the meeting, it is expected that a Regional Declaration on Early Childhood Financing and a matrix of national commitments will be adopted, which will translate the consensus reached into funded, measurable, and sustainable actions.
These agreements will be Latin America and the Caribbean’s contribution to the 2027 Global Summit on Early Childhood Financing, the culmination of the global “Act for Early Years” campaign—led by UNICEF and Theirworld—to mobilize action and funding commitments that will bring the world closer to achieving SDG 4.2.
The 1st Latin American Summit on Early Childhood Investment is co-organized by the Ministry of the Interior; the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID); the Executive Secretariat of the National System for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents (SE SIPINNA); Pacto por la Primera Infancia, A.C.; Act For Early Years; Somos Crianza; Save the Children Mexico; the Inter-American Development Bank; the World Bank; Theirworld; and UNICEF.
The general public is invited to follow the event and take part in this regional conversation. The program, participants, documents, and other content related to the Summit will be available on the official website: cumbrelatinoamericanadeinversionenprimerainfancia.org
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Press contact:
Norma Espinosa +52 55 1364 6337
norma.espinosa@pactoprimerainfancia.org.mx
Daniel Gardea +52 55 4860 0247
ogardea@unicef.org