BRICS Child Futures Forum Calls for Child-Centred Human Capital Agenda

The BRICS Child Futures Forum convened in Lucknow on August 24, 2026 as a track of the 18th BRICS Academic Forum, organized by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in partnership with UNICEF India under the theme 'Investing in Children, Securing the Future: Human Capital for the Next BRICS Decade.' Senior government officials, policy experts, researchers, development partners and youth representatives from BRICS member states called for a life-cycle approach to child-centred human capital investment — spanning maternal health, early childhood development, education, skills and gender parity — alongside stronger, more accountable last-mile delivery systems and cross-BRICS knowledge-sharing mechanisms. Participants noted BRICS is home to more than a billion children, nearly half the world's child population.