Nutrition Wins: How nutrition makes progress in India

Indian children have the same growth and development potential as all children worldwide. Evidence shows that a set of proven interventions from conception to age two years – the 1,000 day window of opportunity – can offer Indian children the best start in life. Therefore, advocacy, policy and programme action need to ensure that:

• Children are breastfed within the first hour of life and are fed only breastmilk in the first six months of life to grow healthy and strong;
• Children are fed the right foods – in quantity and quality – and mother’s milk after six months of age with good feeding and hygiene practices to ensure optimal growth and development;
• Children are given iron and vitamin A supplements and deworming which, with full immunization, will protect them from diseases and anaemia;
• Children are given nutritious life-saving foods and care when they are sick or severely undernourished for survival and lasting recovery; and
• Women benefit from good foods and care, including during adolescence, pregnancy and lactation, to secure their nutrition today and the nutrition of their children tomorrow.

We know what works and, increasingly, we know how to make it work. This publication gathers a collection of case studies that narrate how the Government of India and the state governments are accelerating progress for Maternal and Child Nutrition and how UNICEF is supporting them in bringing about this positive change.