Early Life Interventions for Intergenerational Prosperity

Investing in early childhood development is paramount to building development resilience. Children born to poor parents are less likely to be well nourished, finish school, earn less, and live in poverty, and give birth to malnourished children. Early life interventions—in utero, and in childhood—therefore provide a suitable window of opportunity to stem disparities in human development and intergenerational persistence of poverty. Through a range of programs with multiple scope—institutional birth delivery, nutritional assistance for pregnant and lactating mothers, and reducing classroom hunger—and an explicit focus on children and women, Indian government attempts to address inequalities which develop early in life. While these programs have been effective in achieving the purported goals, there is a significant room of improvement to achieve transformational gains. In this chapter, we argue for further strengthening of these programs through better implementation of the program, enhancements in the quality of services offered, greater synergy across programs, and a sustained commitment to improving maternal and child healthcare.