Introduction
to the Tata Trusts
Know the
work we do
Discover our impact
stories and campaigns
Publications
and reports
In the media
Opportunities
for impact
The period from pregnancy through the first few years of life is critical in shaping lifelong health, growth and development. Nutritional deficits during this window can have lasting and often irreversible consequences. Child undernutrition in India persists due to poor diet quality and low dietary intake, making strengthened maternal nutrition and early childhood nutrition critical to breaking the intergenerational impact of malnutrition.
The Tata Trusts support efforts to improve maternal and early childhood nutrition by strengthening diet quality, feeding practices and care environments that enable optimal growth and development. Through evidence-based approaches, improved dietary assessment and targeted nutrition programmes, we work to improve nutritional status and give every child the healthiest possible start in life.
Improving Nutrition Outcomes for Infants and Young Children with a Focus on Growth and Stunting Prevention
Strengthening infant and young child nutrition to promote healthy growth, prevent stunting, wasting, underweight and support early childhood development through optimised Take-Home Rations (THR) and enhanced Infant and Young Child Feeding practices, with a focus on energy-dense, nutrient-rich diets in early childhood. Age-appropriate quantity, diet diversity, and quality through nutrient and calorie-dense foods, such as milk and fat supplementation etc., allows better nutritional outcomes. Hands-on support for mother-child dyads and capacity building of Anganwadi and other frontline workers for children under 3 years, offer potential to improve child growth while protecting against the risk of overnutrition and overweight.
Addressing Acute Malnutrition
Supporting the development and optimisation of energy-dense nutrition solutions for children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM), as well as underweight children, designed to deliver higher nutrition per gram and enable effective catch-up growth.
Childcare for Early Childhood Growth and Development
Supporting safe, community-based childcare models that ensure adequate nutrition, early stimulation, and care for young children while enabling women with time for gaining skills and livelihoods.
Improving Maternal Nutrition and Birth Outcomes
Optimising nutrition for women during pregnancy, especially from underserved areas, through improving maternal diet quality and adequacy, and dietary diversity and thereby reducing adverse birth outcome such as low birth weight.
