The UNICEF Early Development and Intervention Program in Kazakhstan

Implementation of International Early Childhood Development Standards

Collaboration between the Ministry of Health of the RK, UNICEF, and the School of Pediatrics

The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with the leadership of the health and early childhood development programs of UNICEF (Kazakhstan), initiated training on the principles of the Guidelines for Monitoring Early Development (GMCD) and early intervention for pediatric specialists from all regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the participation of international experts.

Staff from the School of Pediatrics — Head of the Department of Propaedeutics of Childhood Diseases Sagatbayeva N.A. and Professor of the Department of Outpatient Pediatrics Nurgalieva Zh.Zh. — were involved in the training and awarded certificates as international trainers on GMCD and early intervention programs. The GMCD certification courses were successfully conducted at the PHC Republic Center in Astana from January 26–31, 2026, where N.A. Sagatbayeva and Zh.Zh. Nurgalieva participated as international trainers. The first participants of the GMCD training were PHC specialists from Astana, including nursing home nurses, pediatricians, and GPs.

Training on the conceptual foundations and skills of early intervention (EI) was conducted by international experts from Eurlyaid (European Association on Early Childhood Intervention) from February 9–13, 2026. The training programs were very intense and exciting, with all participants showing keen interest and engagement.

In January 2026, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan adopted the unified Concept “Children of Kazakhstan” for 2026–2030. The issues discussed during the training sessions were included in the Concept. It is planned to widely implement the GMCD and improve EI in Kazakhstan as an interdepartmental program to improve the health and harmonious development of the child population.

Event Photo Report

Training highlights on the conceptual foundations of GMCD and early intervention (2026).