Giving Compass' Take:

• Child malnutrition is a significant problem in India, but many activists believe that the government is taking steps to address the severity of the problem. 

• How can philanthropists work with local government or development agencies to help provide aid?

• Read about how a community-based approach can help address child malnutrition.  

India might be touted as an emerging superpower, but millions of its children are still malnourished — the result of unhealthy diets, poor sanitation and their mothers’ own bad health and low social status. Malnutrition threatens not only children’s physical wellbeing but their mental development, too.

“Ninety percent of our brain develops in the first two years of life,” says Dipa Sinha, a convener of India’s Right to Food campaign. “The nutrition and stimulation you get then determine your learning ability, your future productivity and your long-term physical health.”

The results are disastrous for society. Studies have shown that malnutrition and hunger negatively affect children’s behaviour and performance at school, impeding their ability to grasp even basic skills — a situation with severe repercussions for a country that is looking to harness its youthful population to propel the economy.

Despite the problems, many civil society activists and health professionals believe India is at a turning point. In December, the government approved a national nutrition mission, a $1.4bn, three-year effort to battle malnutrition through better integration and stronger monitoring of various government programmes that affect young children, as well as adolescent girls and mothers. The campaign will be monitored by high-level bureaucrats and is expected to give local officials greater incentive to ensure programmes are carried out properly and help states identify weaknesses.

Read more on child malnutrition by Amy Kazmin at Financial Times