CDRF Conducts a Large-scale evaluation on "China REACH" in Huachi County, Gansu Province

From July 11 to 23, the CDRF conducted a large-scale follow-up survey on the children involved in the "China Rural Education and Child Health (China REACH) Program" in Huachi County, Gansu Province. This survey was the first follow-up assessment after the full coverage of the program in Huachi County in 2017, and biggest follow-up survey on children of the "China REACH" Program.

Since its launch in Huachi County in July 2015, the "China REACH" Program has engaged local women to provide early childhood development guidance to families with children aged from 6 to 36 months in rural areas once a week. In October 2017, the program covered Huachi County completely. At present, over 1,700 children and families in the program are receiving early childhood development services.

This survey was led by the CDRF, participated in by the Capital Institute of Pediatrics (CIP), the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Renmin University of China, Long Dong University, and Beijing Normal University, and supported by multiple departments including education and health bureaus of Huachi County. Over 200 people directly participated in this survey per day. This survey targeted a number of children with a big age span and included multiple testing tools, physical examinations, and questionnaires for children and families. Hence, it was more complicated than previous surveys.

This large-scale survey was designated to further learn the effects of the "China REACH" Program on child development, establish a follow-up mechanism, and collect firsthand data for comprehensive assessment of early childhood development. A total of 2,652 valid responses of questionnaires were collected in this survey, with a recovery rate of 81.6%. In the future, the CDRF will reinforce its data analysis capability and refined program management, promote the experience of Huachi County in the "China REACH" Program, and provide a reference for the formulation of relevant national policies.