Since 2015, the Alive & Thrive (A&T) initiative has been on the ground in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh supporting the government and other implementation and technical partners in the adoption of best practices in maternal, infant, and young child nutrition (MIYCN). Through heightened efforts to provide technical assistance that strengthens policies and builds capacity in MIYCN, A&T is engaged in rigorous evidence-generation projects to address knowledge gaps on how to integrate MIYCN best practices within the India health and nutrition systems. Partnering opportunities with medical colleges and professional associations are offering gateways to strengthening MIYCN training programs for health care workers to build their capacity in providing necessary care and support for women and children.
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Thomas oversees A&T’s country programs in India and Bangladesh, as well as regional activities in South Asia. Thomas has over two decades of experience in strategy and management across public health and life sciences. Prior to joining A&T, Thomas served as Deputy Director for strategy, planning and management for Tuberculosis and HIV at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he also led an initiative to improve the use of cost effectiveness data in decision making. Thomas started his career as a strategy and management consultant to the life sciences industry.

Binu brings over 19 years of experience in the public health development sector to his role as Country Director. He has expertise in nutrition, WASH, school health programs, and health education. He has spearheaded program operations in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Philippines and India, where he held roles in project management, design, implementation, and evaluation. Binu holds a master’s degree in public health and a post-graduate diploma in Public Health Nutrition.

Sebanti heads A&T’s program in India and provides overall technical and operational leadership to the program. Sebanti has over 22 years of experience as public health expert, specializing in nutrition, reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health (RMNCH+A), gender, and reproductive health and rights. Prior to joining A&T, Sebanti was the Senior Technical Advisor RMNCH+A at John Snow Inc. She has also served in several leadership positions under the DFID supported Health Sector Reforms Programme in the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal. Sebanti has also held technical and consultancy positions with the WHO, UN, government agencies, and various NGOs.



Dhiraj provides overall financial, operational, contractual management and administrative support to the A&T office in Uttar Pradesh. Dhiraj has over two decades of extensive experience in managing finance and administration. Prior to joining A&T, Dhiraj served as Project Manager-Finance & Administration at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) for Gujarat, beforehand he worked with FHI 360’s Urban Health Initiative (UHI) Project and CARE India’s various projects, where he played a significant role in budgeting, subgrantee management, donor reporting, contract management and other financial and administrative activities.

Rajendra provides operational and technical assistance in planning, implementation and supervision of A&T activities in Uttar Pradesh in coordination with government and other partners. Rajendra is a public health professional with over 15 years’ experience in systems strengthening and capacity development of government officials on health and nutrition issues working with international NGOs across India. Prior to joining A&T, Rajendra served as the State Consultant with UNICEF in Bihar (also working for UNICEF in Uttar Pradesh). Rajendra has also held positions at the Indo-Global Social Service Society (IGSSS) and with the Micronutrient Initiative (MI) on Vitamin A and Zinc programs in Bihar.

Anupam Srivastava is based in A&T’s office in Bihar and is responsible for supporting and sustaining partnerships with the government, medical colleges and hospital, private health facilities, medical associations and State Rural Livelihood Mission program in the state. Anupam has more than two decades of experience in program management in public health and nutrition. Prior to joining A&T, Anupam served as Senior Program Manager in program management in Maternal and child health and Nutrition for Care and UNICEF. Anupam started her career as a trainer on community health and community nutrition.

Anumeha Verma provides knowledge management support to A&T in India. With over ten years of experience in communication and content strategy, she has worked in education management, publishing, media, and public health nutrition. Her areas of focus have been cross-cultural & strategic communications, thought leadership, content development, and research across India and Africa. Anumeha was a part of WeCan prior to joining A&T.

Noveena spearheads A&T's communications and advocacy portfolio in India, overseeing media and national advocacy strategies. With over 12 years of expertise in communications and advocacy, her expertise lies in dissemination, outreach, and stakeholder management. Prior to joining A&T, Noveena served as a communications expert in several health and nutrition programs including JSI, PATH, WFP, and the World Bank.

Priyanka Bajaj applies her expertise in program design and nutrition innovation as A&T's Nutrition Specialist in India. Priyanka's experience lies in MIYCN, food fortification, and public health nutrition program management, and she has held research roles as well as led and designed large-scale nutrition interventions with the Indian government. Previously, she worked for the Nutrition International, TERI, Hriday, and WeCan.

Sunil Kumar provides technical leadership, management, and coordination for A&T in Uttar Pradesh. Prior to A&T, Sunil's 20 years of experience includes various public health projects with IPE Global Limited, Nutrition International, Save the Children, and UNICEF. He has worked for over a decade in public health and nutrition in Uttar Pradesh after studying at the Xavier Institute of Social Services.
Mr. Sumitro Roy is the State Program Lead, Jharkhand. He brings over 20 years of experience in the field of public health, nutrition, and social marketing. He has worked in technical assistance projects and operationalized large scale public health and nutrition projects with Government and NGOs strengthening maternal, infant, and young child nutrition programs in India and Bangladesh. He has served in various organizations and projects such as IPE Global, WeCAN, AED, USAID Micronutrient and Child Blindness Project, A2Z, National Rural Health Mission and Hindustan Latex Limited, and the Community Based Social Marketing Project.