Date & Time:	Thursday, January 7, 2010, 12:30-2:00pm
	Venue:	J1-050
	Presenter:	Lia Fernald, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
	Chair:	Wendy Cunningham, Lead Specialist and Unit Coordinator, HDNCY
	Discussants:	Emanuela Galasso, Senior Economist, DECRG Christopher Thomas, Sector Manager, AFTED
	Materials:	1. BBL Presentation by the Speaker [7.75MB-ppt] 2. Examining Early Child Development in Low-Income Countries: A Toolkit for the Assessment of Children in the First Five Years of Life [2.67MB-pdf]

Summary

Lia Fernald presented her recently published toolkit on "Examining Early Child Development in Low Income Countries." This presentation (and the toolkit) would be particularly useful for Task Team Leaders (TTLs) across the sectors interested in planning and evaluating programs or interventions aimed at improving the health and development of infants and young children. Lia provided an overview of issues affecting early development and its measurement, discussed the types of tests typically used with children under five years, provided guidelines for selecting and adapting tests for use in developing countries, and make recommendations for planning successful assessment strategies.

Bio

Lia Fernald is an Associate Professor in Community Health and Human Development at the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. She holds a Ph.D. in international nutrition and child development from the University of London and an M.B.A. from Berkeley, with a focus on health management. Dr. Fernald's research focuses on the evaluation of economic and health interventions (e.g. conditional cash transfer programs, micro-credit interventions, community-based nutrition programs) on child development, nutritional status, health outcomes, lifestyle and behavior, and mental health. She has published several articles and book chapters relating to nutritional deficits and child development and has worked in Jamaica, Kenya, Nepal, Zimbabwe, India, South Africa, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, and Madagascar.