ABSTRACT
Governments in low-resource settings face numerous challenges in enhancing human development, especially in addressing poverty and malnutrition. Meghalaya, with its diverse topography and rich cultural heritage, encounters significant barriers such as high Total Fertility Rates (TFR), poor learning outcomes, multidimensional poverty, and high infant and maternal mortality rates. This chapter explores Meghalaya's innovative governance strategies to improve nutritional outcomes. It examines the interplay between state governance and nutritional outcomes, focusing on the empirical case of Meghalaya. The chapter elucidates the application of problem-driven iterative adaptation (PDIA) and Adaptive Leadership (AL) frameworks developed at Harvard Kennedy School of Government within Meghalaya's State Capability Enhancement Project (SCEP).
Empirical data analysis showcases Meghalaya's tangible outcomes, including recovery rates of Severe Acute Malnourished (SAM) and Moderate Acute Malnourished (MAM) children. Additionally, the chapter details the conceptualization and implementation of Meghalaya's Early Childhood Development (ECD) Mission, highlighting the adaptive and innovative governance strategies. The study emphasizes the iterative nature of the SCEP framework and its capacity to respond to developmental challenges.
Meghalaya's policy framework demonstrates collaborative governance across sectors such as health, education, women and child development, and community and rural development. The research highlights the importance of sectoral program coordination in expanding maternal and child health and nutrition interventions and investigates intersectoral convergence in nutrition programming from state to village level across the functionaries of the departments. Emphasizing community participation and decentralized governance, the chapter underscores the significance of collaboration among multiple sectors, political commitment, community involvement, and decisions backed by evidence in achieving sustainable improvements in nutritional outcomes. By situating Meghalaya's experience within the broader discourse on state capability and collaborative governance, this research adds to the academic literature on innovative policy frameworks for improving human development outcomes.
