{
  "id": 1554856,
  "title": "FUTURE INVESTMENT: Thrive by Five uses data to drive smarter investment in early childhood",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/future-investment-thrive-by-five-uses-data-to-drive-smarter",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-17T20:28:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Maverick",
    "slug": "daily-maverick",
    "url": "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-17-thrive-by-five-uses-data-to-drive-smarter-investment-in-early-childhood/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Sonja Giese has dedicated over 30 years of her career to child development, with a specific focus on using data to improve early learning outcomes in South Africa. Her pioneering work includes the Thrive by Five Index, which has empowered communities, educators, and policymakers to drive meaningful social change. The index, launched in 2022, is the largest survey of preschool child outcomes ever conducted in South Africa and reflects a true partnership between various organizations. Giese believes the index has been more transformative than anticipated, as it has validated the work of educators and policymakers instead of feeling criticized. The national survey, conducted every three years, measures the development of children aged 50 to 59 months in key areas across all nine provinces. The 2024 survey was led by the Department of Basic Education and coordinated by DataDrive2030, an impact-first investor founded by Giese. The index serves as a reference point for those across government, business, and civil society tracking progress in early childhood development (ECD). Despite the challenges of conducting a survey of this scale, Giese emphasizes that the data is made accessible for organizations to use in motivating investment in early years programs. Giese has learned valuable lessons throughout her career, such as the importance of storytelling to make children visible and the need to integrate solutions into existing systems. With a focus on closing the last 30% access gap, Giese aims to improve early learning programs for young children in South Africa.",
  "summary": "Sonja Giese’s more-than-30-year career in child development has seen her take on a pioneering role in using data to transform early learning outcomes in South Africa. Through initiatives like the Thrive by Five Index, she has helped empower communities, educators and policymakers to drive meaningful social change.",
  "key_points": [
    "Sonja Giese dedicated 30+ years to child development in South Africa.",
    "Thrive by Five Index is largest preschool child outcomes survey in SA.",
    "Index serves as reference for ECD investment, closing access gap."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}