Being home to 31% of the world's children who are stunted and 42% of those who are underweight, and with many children and adults affected by micronutrient deficiencies, India is facing huge challenges in the field of nutrition. Even though the Indian Government is investing vast amounts of money into programs that aim to enhance food security, health and nutrition (the Integrated Child Development Services program alone costs 3 billion USD per year), overall impact has been rather disappointing. However, there are some bright spots on the horizon. The recent District Level Health Surveys (DLHS-4) do show significant progress, ie a reduction in stunting of around 15% over the past 6 years in a few states for which preliminary results are available. The reasons for this reduction are not unambiguous and appear to include state government commitment, focus on the 'window of opportunity', improved status and education of women, a lowered fertility rate, and combinations of nutrition- specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions. Apart from the government many other agencies play a role in driving improvements in nutrition. Since 2006 the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has worked with a range of partners to improve access to nutritious foods for large parts of the population, through public and private delivery channels. This supplement presents a selection of these activities, ranging from a capacityassessment of frontline workers in the ICDS system, large scale staple food fortification, salt iodization, fortification of mid-day meals for school children and decentralized complementary food production.
全世界發育遲緩兒童中，有31%身在印度，其中42%為體重過輕，還有許多孩 童及成人也受到微量營養素缺乏的影響，讓印度正面臨營養領域的巨大挑戰。 儘管為了確保糧食安全、健康與營養，印度政府投入巨額的經費到相關計畫(僅 整合兒童發展服務計畫，ICDS，每年就花費30 億美元)，但整體的影響仍相當 有限。即便如此，未來的事還是有一些希望。最近某些州的地區層級的健康調 查(DLHS-4)發現顯著的進展，例如過去6 年中，發展遲緩的比率約降了15%。 這個率下降的原因還不清楚，可能包含了州政府的承諾、聚焦在“最佳時機”、 提高女性的地位及教育、降低生育率及營養專一及營養敏感的組合介入。除了 政府以外，很多其他單位也扮演推動改善營養的角色。自2006 年起，全球營 養改善聯盟(GAIN)已經與許多夥伴合作，透過公共及私人傳遞管道，改善大部 分族群取得較營養食物的機會。這種營養補助，透過各種活動，範圍從ICDS 第一線工作者能力評估、大規模主食類食物營養強化、食鹽加碘、學童中餐強 化，到輔助食物去集中化生產。