The five main goals of the UEY program are:

To provide communities with analysis based on collected data on factors in each community influencing early child development to underlie local strategies to improve children’s early years;

	To enhance community capacity to use knowledge/research infrastructure and measurement tools to monitor early childhood development and develop community-based responses;
	To contribute to national knowledge about the role of communities in improving outcomes for children, and the "readiness to learn" of children country-wide to inform policy decisions;
	To create networks among researchers and across communities by disseminating findings to a wide audience, forming networks of expertise, and showcasing effective practices;
	To promote collaboration and sharing of expertise in and among communities.