Ms. Francesca Barolo – Programme Officer, Restricted Project Management

Francesca Barolo is responsible for managing and monitoring restricted projects in the Region. She provides technical assistance to strengthen projects on youth-friendly services, comprehensive sexuality education, gender, sexuality & rights, and attitudes & values around HIV, VCT, working with key populations and positive prevention. In 2008-10, she worked with MAMTA on ‘Achieving optimum legal age at marriage for boys and girls and delaying subsequent pregnancy while enhancing sexual reproductive health of youth in India’. She coordinated the 4th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights, at Hyderabad, India in 2007. Francesca also worked on gender based violence at the Gender Research Centre, University of Turin and at Vishakha in Rajasthan, India. She has an MA in Sociology (Delhi School of Economics) and an MA in Peace Keeping Management (Turin University, Italy).

Mr. Pankaj Anand– Programme Officer, Resource Mobilisation

Pankaj has a post-graduate degree in Management and Sociology. He has over 15 years experience in the national and international NGO sector. He has worked with International HIV/AIDS Alliance in India (Alliance India) for over four-and-a-half years whose commitment has been the delivery of effective, innovative, community-based HIV and SRH programmes to key populations affected by the epidemic. He has been a critical part of Alliance India's various projects supported by Governments, Foundations and Multilaterals over the years and he has been leading and supporting in areas such as knowledge management, communication, resource mobilisation, and technical support. In addition to his key responsibilities, he was also Alliance India's focal point on HIV-TB integration. Pankaj has also worked with the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), an international centre for learning and promotion of participation focussing primarily on participatory research, citizen-centric development, capacity building, knowledge building and policy advocacy. His core areas of competence include technical support, advocacy knowledge sharing, and resource mobilisation. He has wide experience in thematic areas such as health, gender and local self-governance.

Ms. Susmita Choudhury – Project coordinator, SRH-HIV Integration

Susmita Choudhury posses a Masters degree in Sociology, a Post Graduate Diploma in Child Rights Law from National Law School of India University, Bangalore and has completed course on Reproductive Health – Policies and Programs from John Hopkins School of Public Health, USA. She has more than 10 years of experience working with national and international NGOs. She has extensively worked on Reproductive Health, HIV and Child & Youth development as also on health system infrastructure development through Public Private Partnership. Susmita has worked with various organizations like Child In Need Institute, EPOS Health Consultants Pvt Ltd. and ChildFund International. As part of the core program development in ChildFund, Susmita led the area strategic planning process through child and youth consultation in tribal areas of Orissa, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, India. Susmita extended technical support on child and youth development to all the partner organizations of ChildFund India as also ChildFund Sri Lanka. Before joining IPPF, Susmita was working with Rural Development Institute (RDI) - Landesa as program manager for the program on security of girls through land emphasizing on land based skills for girls and equal inheritance rights.