The concepts underlying the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) were developed as a result of several meetings convened by the Global Forum for Health Research (GFHR), starting with the movement from research groups aiming to strengthen and formalize the interactions between researchers into child health and child nutrition.

The first meeting of CHNRI in June 1999 highlighted some of the important issues for the child health and nutrition research agenda. In February 2000, a meeting of interested parties led to the identification of research and analytical priorities.

Following the receipt of initial funding from the World Bank in 2001, projects were supported as commissioned research/analysis and competitive research grants. Additionally, core funds were provided to address issues of governance and strategic planning.

In 2006, CHNRI has been a fully independent international Swiss Foundation. Currently the Secretariat is hosted by The INCLEN Trust International at New Delhi, India.