ABSTRACT
Malnutrition, particularly undernutrition, is a significant public health challenge in India. Progress in nutritional outcomes has been slower than expected relative to India's economic growth and in comparison with relatively less well-resourced neighbours. As India's economic status has improved, development assistance for health and nutrition has decreased and the government provides the vast majority of funds for these sectors in India. This chapter argues that while external donor agencies contribute relatively limited financial resources, this funding is increasingly strategically allocated through a 'technical assistance' role which enables an influence on policymaking and programme development. The divergence among actors comes in the framing of the problem: the aetiology of the nutrition challenge and the solutions needed to address it are contested. Within nutrition governance in India, the dominant narrative regarding nutrition among children changed somewhat after 2004, owing in part to mobilization by civil society advocates and judicial action, and in part to a change in political leadership in the country.
