This document is written for local and international staff running nutrition programmes in emergencies, and for local, regional and national authorities and donors involved in such programmes. The note explains why nutrition programmes need to include early childhood development (ECD) activities to maximize the child’s development. It provides practical suggestions as to what simple steps are necessary to create integrated programmes in situations of famine or food insecurity and it gives examples of how such integrated programmes have been established in other situations. This document is also available in Arabic: http://www.who.int/mental_health/emergencies/ecd_why_what_how_arabic.pdf?ua=1 ;and in French: http://www.who.int/mental_health/emergencies/ecd_why_what_how_french.pdf?ua=1