The objective of this PULSE for Development Coffee Chat session is to facilitate a discussion on reproductive health and family planning in rural areas, with a focus on promoting access, rights, and informed decision-making. By bringing together experts and practitioners in the field, the session aims to explore key challenges, share best practices, and highlight innovative approaches to ensure universal access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare and family planning services.

The session will provide a platform for discussion and dialogue on the following topics:
1. Discussing barriers to reproductive healthcare access, including stigma, discrimination, and gender inequality in rural areas.
2. Through examples, understanding how governments, CSOs and communities are collaborating on reproductive health and family planning?

The Coalition Series is crucial for promoting collaboration and solidarity among CSOs, government, and development practitioners. This collective learning generates new knowledge, improves practices, and accelerates the adoption of successful approaches. Through a united common vision, coalitions can exert greater influence on policymakers, public opinion, and institutional practices. Through collective action, the series has the potential to shape a better future for public life.

Speakers’ info:

1. Chandan Verma

Chandan Verma, National Partnership Officer, is leading the Govt & CSR Partnerships in Humana People to People, India, for the last 10 years. He is instrumental in business development and PPP operational models for scaling up with state governments on education and health. He has developed impactful operational models to strengthen and improve the quality of service delivery at the Govt. health facilities & Anganwadi centres with multi-stakeholder engagement programs on reproductive health and nutrition. He has contributed to strengthening maternal and child health indicators in states like Telangana, Maharashtra, UP, Jharkhand, and Himachal Pradesh, especially with the migrants, and urban poor population.

Chandan is a post-graduate in Rural Management. He is a seasoned social development professional with proficiency in program management, fundraising, and collaborations in Education, Public Health, and Community Development areas. Over the years, he was associated with the TCI Foundation, the Institute for Reproductive Health- at Georgetown University, and the Population Foundation of India in the last two decades and contributed to large-scale HIV/AIDS, Reproductive health & FP, and Urban Health Programs in India.

Chandan is passionate about promoting girls’ education and the health of women and is working diligently to strengthen health service delivery using multi-sectoral approaches and Govt collaboration to raise educated and healthy communities in the underprivileged population and areas.

2. Alok Vajpeyi

Alok Vajpeyi is the Lead, Knowledge Management and Core Grants with Population Foundation of India. He is an experienced Monitoring and Evaluation Expert, Researcher and Strategist with progressive experience in evidence based development. Alok has worked with national and international organizations and provided programme, research, evaluation and management oversight and leadership. He has led research study on cost of inaction in family planning, costing of family planning and development of knowledge products based on findings.

Alok was member of Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group (PME WG) for 2016-18. Alok has led several international and national research studies, reviews and evaluations. Alok led the State Population Policy drafting process in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

He has done Master in Business Administration from Maastricht University, the Netherlands and received professional trainings in impact evaluation and knowledge management from World Bank’s IPDET programme in Carlton University, Harvard University and IIM, Ahmedabad.

3.Darshana Kumari – Child Development Project Officer

Ms. Darshana Kumari has been working with the Social Welfare Department since 2012. Currently, she is working in Khodavandpur project of Begusarai district in Bihar. She has been integral towards implementing health and nutrition services, including pre-school education, supplementary nutrition, vaccination, health check-up, nutrition and health education counseling, among others, in the block under the Integrated Child Development Scheme.

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