Argentina's NIDO Index ranks Córdoba and Río Cuarto among top cities for early childhood

The NIDO Index, created by the Fundación Bunge y Born, evaluates Argentine cities with more than 100,000 residents on four dimensions that affect children’s development up to age five: socio‑economic context, health services, education access and green‑space availability. The ranking, released together with organisations such as CIPPEC, UNICEF and the UCA Social Debt Observatory, places Buenos Aires first, followed by Vicente López, Rafaela, Olavarría and others. The cities of Córdoba and Río Cuarto are highlighted as among the best locations in the country for raising young children.

The tool is intended for public agencies, researchers, schools and families, offering granular data at the census‑block level to identify gaps in infrastructure and guide more precise early‑childhood policies. Coordinators stress the importance of early intervention, noting that by age five the brain reaches about 90 % of adult size, and call for better public statistics to support such initiatives.