Only 15 countries worldwide have three basic national policies that help guarantee the time and resources parents need to support their young children s healthy brain development UNICEF said in a new report Early Moments Matter for Every Child . Worse 32 countries home to one in eight of the world s children under five have none of these policies in place. According to the report two years of free pre primary education paid breastfeeding breaks during the first six months of a child s life and six months of paid maternity leave as well as four weeks of paid paternity leave help lay a critical foundation for optimal early childhood development. The report notes that Cuba France Portugal Russia and Sweden are among the countries that guarantee all three policies. However 85 million children under five are growing up in 32 countries without any of the three critical policies in place. Surprisingly 40 per cent of these children live in just two countries Bangladesh and the United States UNICEF September 21 2017