News Releases

UWI Researchers Win World’s Largest Education Prize for Transforming Early Childhood Development

For Release Upon Receipt - September 11, 2026

St. Augustine


The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica, W.I., Friday, September 11, 2026 — Two University of the West Indies (The UWI) researchers have been named 2026 Yidan Prize laureates for Education Development. Widely regarded as the world’s highest accolade in education, the award recognises over three decades of work that has transformed how we understand and support early childhood development globally.

Professor Susan P. Walker, Emeritus Professor of Nutrition at The UWI’s Caribbean Institute for Health Research (CAIHR), and Dr Susan M. Chang-Lopez, Senior Lecturer at CAIHR, share the 2026 award with long-time collaborator Sally Grantham-McGregor, Emeritus Professor University College London. Professor Grantham-McGregor worked at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) from 1967 and subsequently joined the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, UWI. She left as professor in 1995. The trio were recognised for creating Reach Up, an evidence-based, scalable, early childhood intervention that has grown from a 1986 research study in Jamaica to a programme reaching hundreds of thousands of children from vulnerable homes across 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, and is currently scaling to reach 1.5 million in Brazil.

Announcing the laureates, Dorothy K. Gordon, Head of the Yidan Prize Judging Panel for Education Development, said the winners “have reshaped global education” with some of the strongest empirical evidence demonstrating the connection between early stimulation and pre-formal school learning and lifelong attainment. Acknowledging that one major cause of lower development in children growing up in poverty is a lack of early learning opportunities at home and limited access to pre-primary education, she commended the laureates’ generosity in sharing their findings and intervention techniques. According to Gordon, the resulting “practical innovation” in the Reach Up programme and the strong, international network of partner institutions around it demonstrate “how lasting change can be achieved through a combination of evidence, partnership and local leadership.”

Reach Up provides low-cost, practical, culturally adaptable solutions to expand caregivers’ capacity to provide stimulation for children ages 0-4. The activities, built around everyday routines, help caregivers build the knowledge, skills and confidence to talk, play and respond in ways that support cognitive development. Implemented through a network of existing health, social protection, education and humanitarian systems, Reach Up’s curriculum and resources are free and continuously evaluated and adapted to keep the programme effective.

Awardee Professor Susan P. Walker, who led CAIHR as Director from 2012 to 2020, celebrated the impact of the research, saying, “Our vision is to ensure children have early environments that support their development, the foundation for success at school and across the life course. Reach Up started in 1991 as the Jamaica Home Visit programme, testing the idea that regular, low-cost stimulation from their caregiver, delivered through play, conversation, and homemade toys, could change a child’s development trajectory as powerfully as good nutrition. We followed the participants as adults and showed those who participated in the programme earned 25-40 per cent more than their peers, with better cognitive skills and improved mental health outcomes. We are very grateful to the Yidan Foundation for highlighting our work and the importance of investment in the early development of our most vulnerable to reduce inequality.”

Co-laureate Dr Chang-Lopez also expressed deep gratitude for the award. “The Yidan award is a public recognition of over 40 years of research conducted here in Jamaica and with partners worldwide. It is an acknowledgement of our life’s work. We are deeply grateful to our many colleagues who have contributed to this work currently and in the past. We also thank the many parents and children who have participated in our studies and to our Reach Up global community who are committed to the programme.”

With the 2026 Yidan Prize, the laureates receive HK$ 30 million (approximately US$ 3.8 million) as an award and an unrestricted project fund to advance their future research. Laureates will be honoured at the Yidan Prize Summit in Hong Kong from December 3 to 5, 2026.

Offering his congratulations to the researchers, current CAIHR Director, Professor Marshall Tulloch-Reid said, “This achievement underscores the real-world impact of our research and aligns with the mission of CAIHR to enhance the health and well-being of Caribbean and global populations, through innovative research and strategic partnerships.”

Learn more about Reach Up and access resources at https://reachupandlearn.com/. For more on CAIHR, whose primary role is the conduct of high-quality research that can inform health policy, programmes and health care delivery for regional populations, visit https://uwi.edu/caihr/.

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Notes to the Editor:

Photo Caption

2026 Laureates for the Yidan Prize for Education Development (l-r) Professor Susan P. Walker, Emeritus Professor of Nutrition, Caribbean Institute for Health Research (CAIHR), UWI; Professor Sally Grantham-McGregor, University College London; and Dr Susan M. Chang-Lopez, Senior Lecturer at CAIHR, UWI.

Access photo at https://app.air.inc/a/bd73d1536/b/5f508cf0-de04-4e38-9f76-3e4b7ce5941f/c/04a0c4c3-ce06-4abc-be11-4f1c44c0e824

About the Yidan Prize Foundation

The Yidan Prize is the world's highest accolade in education, spotlighting innovators whose research and development work is transforming lives and societies. The Prize comprises two awards: the Yidan Prize for Education Research and the Yidan Prize for Education Development. Established in 2016, the Yidan Prize Foundation works toward a better world through education. Anchored around its laureates, the foundation brings together a global community of changemakers — researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and philanthropists — who learn from one another, champion shared standards of excellence, help shape the field's agenda, and accelerate change at scale.

About The University of the West Indies

The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has played a crucial role in Caribbean development for over 75 years, consistently contributing to the improvement of the well-being of people across the region.

Established in 1948 as a university college of London in Jamaica, with just 33 medical students, UWI has grown into an internationally respected, global university with nearly 50,000 students. Today, it boasts five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda, and its Global Campus, along with international centres in partnership with universities across North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

The UWI offers over 1000 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the leading university in the Caribbean, it is home to the largest pool of intellect and expertise in the region, dedicated to addressing the critical issues facing both the Caribbean and the wider world.

Validated by its inclusion in the Times Higher Education (THE) annual rankings since 2018, The UWI has affirmed its position as one of the top universities globally. It stands out as the only English-speaking institution in the Caribbean featured in four of THE's prestigious ranking lists. The World University Rankings evaluate over 2,000 research-focused universities worldwide, while the Golden Age University Rankings highlight institutions established between 50 and 80 years ago. The Latin America Rankings focus specifically on universities within Latin America and the Caribbean. Additionally, the Impact Rankings assess universities based on their contributions to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This recognition has also springboarded the establishment of The UWI’s International School for Development Justice (ISDJ), a global online graduate business school aimed at preparing future leaders for sustainable development. The UWI is an SDG-engaged university consistently recognised among the best in the world. Discover more at www.uwi.edu.

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