About Us
SAPLING's prime goal is to enable the adoption of a 'food systems' approach to address malnutrition in SAPLING priority countries, namely, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
SAPLING Introduction Video
Our Vision
Develop and synthesise useful evidence on food systems, bring greater visibility to common challenges, facilitate knowledge exchange and learning, promote evidence and best practices and support policy leadership at the regional and national levels.
Our Mission
To establish a regional platform for consensus building among various stakeholders for mainstreaming evidence-based policy, action and leadership to combat malnutrition in line with policymakers' needs and priorities through a whole-of-systems approach.
Our Steering Committee
Dr. Usha Jha, Nepal, Member
Dr. Usha Jha was appointed as a member of National Planning Commission effective from May 2018. She has served as an Academician at the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS), Rampur Chitwan from 1985 to 1995. She was deputed as the Campus Chief at the branch Campus, IAAS Sunder Bazar, Lamjung in 1995 and she worked there until 1998From 1998 till today, she has been working as a development worker in different status. Her work at Lamjung and Rampur has given her exposure to a wide range of development projects addressing women in agriculture. As a development worker, she has experienced working with NGOs, INGOs, Donors, and the UN which expanded her learning in different sectors of development from education, community economic empowerment, health, peace building, democracy and governance. She has participated in grassroots and national level research, program design, program implementation, monitoring /evaluation, reporting and advocacy. She has been nominated as a member of National Development Council, Government of Nepal, elected as the executive and the President of National NGOs network group against AIDs ( NANGAN), member of Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG) of UN-Women, Think Tank member of Ministry of Women Children and Social Welfare, Grant Management Committee Member of Project for Accountability in Nepal (PRAN) funded by World Bank and Proposal Evaluator for Social Inclusion Research Fund under SNV. She also held various consultancy roles for development projects in Nepal.
Mr. Basanta Kumar Kar, India, Member
Mr. Basanta Kumar Kar, an international development professional who has won many accolades in his career of over 30 years, brings to the nutrition sector his prolific knowledge and vast experience, having worked extensively at the grassroots in India as well as other South and South East Asian countries. Through his professional excellence, programme delivery skills, public interest orientation, innovative ideas, deep knowledge of the subject and empathy, he has demonstrated how intervention programmes can be suitably scaled up for maximising impact among the poor and marginalised. He has helped shape and influence country-level policy and legislations, created platforms and agenda to spread awareness in the sector. He has held leadership positions in the social development sector, and worked with major organisations like National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), ActionAid International, CARE, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), The Coalition for Food and Nutrition Security. He represents in numerous policy, advisory and technical bodies of the Government and civil society. For his outstanding contribution to nutrition in South Asia, Mr. Kar is recipient of the prestigious global ‘Transform Nutrition Champions’ award, and also the ‘Odisha Living Legend’ award for contribution to public policy. For his decades-long and unstinting contribution in championing the cause of sustainable food and nutrition security in India and globally, Mr. Kar is also known as the ‘Nutrition Man’. He holds a Degree in English Literature and Law and a Post Graduate Degree in Rural Management from a premier institute in Asia. Mr. Kar has authored many academic and research works.
Dr. M. A. Sattar Mandal, Bangladesh, Chair
Dr. M. A. Sattar Mandal, Emeritus Professor at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh, has been involved in teaching, research and policy planning in agriculture and rural development for over four decades. He completed his PhD from the University of London in 1979 and post-doc studies from the University of Oxford in 1986-87. He has worked as a visiting professor in many universities abroad including School of Development Studies of the University of East Anglia, UK in 1997 and 2000, and Faculty of Life Sciences of the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Kleve, Germany since 2013 through 2017.Major areas of Professor Mandal’s academic interests include agriculture and rural development, food and agricultural policy planning, irrigation and water resource management, agricultural technology, rural mechanization and agribusiness development. He was the Vice-Chancellor of BAU from 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the General Economics Division during 2000-2001 in the Planning Commission, the central Planning Organization of the Government of the Bangladesh. He is currently involved as a member of the Expert Pool of the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Bangladesh and has been a member of the Independent Steering Committee (ISC) for the new CGIAR research program on Fish AgriFood Systems (FISH) of WorldFish. He has had multiple advisory and consultancy roles with FAO, CIMMYT, WorldFish, Winrock, IFC and World Bank. He has led the preparation of various national policy documents and continues to influence agricultural policy till date.
Dr. Purvi Mehta, India, Co-Chair
Dr. Purvi Mehta currently serves as the Deputy Director and Head of Asia for agriculture at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, India. She received a PhD from the North Carolina State University in USA. She has worked with the CGIAR, as head of Asia for the International Livestock Research Institute and also as head of South Asia Biosafety program (IFPRI, USAID), and brings a blend of experience from Asia and Africa. She is on board of several organizations, including the International Alliance for Ecology and Health-Canada, International Centre for Rural Agriculture-Netherlands and the Board of National Commodity Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX). She is honorary professor at Amity University-India and visiting Scientist at Cornell University. She has been closely associated with several agriculture and nutrition policy platforms in India, South East Asia and Africa and serves on several committees and advisory panels. She was the recipient of Agriculture Today Award-2014, for her contributions to agriculture policies in South Asia. Dr. Mehta has two books and over 50 publications to her credit.
Dr. R. Hemalatha, India, Member
Dr. R. Hemalatha, MBBS, MD; took over as the 13th Director of the ICMR- National Institute of Nutrition in Dec 2017. She heads the largest Nutrition research organisation in the country that covers the spectrum from basic to public health. Dr Hemalatha has carried out extensive research in the realm of Nutrition, Infection and Immunity with special emphasis on women and child health. She has also worked in the area of preconception nutrition and the first 1000 days of life. She also conducted a battery of studies on probiotics and gut as well as vaginal microbiome profiling in pregnant women that have generated vital information on the impact of inflammation on foetal growth and pregnancy outcomes. Dr Hemalatha is an expert member of various task force committees of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India; Food Safety and Standards of India (FSSAI), National Technical Board on Nutrition and National Council of Nutrition of NITI Aayog. Dr. Hemalatha is recipient of Ponduri VR Rao Gold Medal, and Dr. Rajammal P Devadas Memorial Award. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences (FNAMS), Fellow of the International Union of Nutrition Sciences (FIUNS) and Fellow of the Telangana Academy of Sciences (FTAS). She has served as Joint Secretary of the Nutrition Society of India.
Dr. W.M.W. Weerakoon, Sri Lanka, Member
Dr. WMW Weerakoon has 34 years of experience in administration and research on Agronomy and Crop Physiology. He received his PhD from Oregon State University, USA. He has also trained at the International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), India, US EPA laboratory, Corvallis, Oregon, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines (PhD thesis research on Climate Change) and Rural Development Administration (Rice production training), Republic of Korea. He was the National coordinator of the National Rice Testing Program from 1998 until 2011. He has also worked as a research fellow at the US EPA Environmental Protection Laboratory at Corvallis, Oregon, USA, at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines and at the National Agricultural Research Center for Kyushu and Okinawa Region (KONARC), Kumamoto, Japan. He is also a recipient of the “2000 START Young Scientist Award” for the South Asia Region, Best Agriculture scientist of the year “ASDA award - 2009” and has received His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka Research Award for 10 times since 1999.
Dr. Tayan Raj Gurung, Bhutan, Member
Dr. Tayan Raj Gurung is a Senior Specialist (Farming Systems) at Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Thimphu, Bhutan. He has over 32 years of experience in farming systems and community based natural resource management research. He obtained his PhD degree in Human Geography and Regional Economics from the Département of Geography, Paris, France. He worked in the Council for RNR Research of Bhutan, Bhutan during 1987 to 2010 at various positions from Researcher (Farming systems), project team leader to Director (Regional Research Centre). In 2011 he was promoted as the Farming Systems Specialist in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests to support commercialization of agriculture and initiation of large scale agricultural farms. He was deputed to SAARC Agriculture Centre, Dhaka as Senior Program Specialist (NRM) during 2013-2018. He has special interest in conflict resolution in natural resources and connecting institutions and people.He received 2006 Ralf Yorque Memorial Competition Award for the best paper for his work on “Companion modelling, conflict resolution, and Institution building: sharing irrigation water in the Bhutan”. He has published over 50 articles, book chapters, and edited more than 15 books. He is also member of the following committees: Chairman of the Agriculture Curriculum Development of the Royal Education Council, Co-Chair of the National Organic Flagship Program of Bhutan, Co-Chair of the Agriculture Vision 2045, External Members Representation in the Programmes and Quality Committee of the Royal University of Bhutan and Chairman of the SAARC Technical Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.
Dr. Sandy Thomas OBE, United Kingdom, Member
Prof. Sandy Thomas OBE is the Director of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition. She is also Chair of the UK Food Standards Agency’s Science Council. Previously she headed the UK Government's Foresight Programme in the Government Office for Science, from 2006-2014. She trained as a scientist at the University of London (BSc Botany and Zoology, PhD Plant Genetics). She worked as an academic at the University of London for four years before joining the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex (1987-1997) where she focused on the life sciences, biotechnology and intellectual property rights. From 1997-2006, she served as Director of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. She has published widely on the development of public policy in science and has also served on several national committees.
Dr. Usha Jha, Nepal, Member
Dr. Usha Jha was appointed as a member of National Planning Commission effective from May 2018. She has served as an Academician at the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS), Rampur Chitwan from 1985 to 1995. She was deputed as the Campus Chief at the branch Campus, IAAS Sunder Bazar, Lamjung in 1995 and she worked there until 1998From 1998 till today, she has been working as a development worker in different status. Her work at Lamjung and Rampur has given her exposure to a wide range of development projects addressing women in agriculture. As a development worker, she has experienced working with NGOs, INGOs, Donors, and the UN which expanded her learning in different sectors of development from education, community economic empowerment, health, peace building, democracy and governance. She has participated in grassroots and national level research, program design, program implementation, monitoring /evaluation, reporting and advocacy. She has been nominated as a member of National Development Council, Government of Nepal, elected as the executive and the President of National NGOs network group against AIDs ( NANGAN), member of Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG) of UN-Women, Think Tank member of Ministry of Women Children and Social Welfare, Grant Management Committee Member of Project for Accountability in Nepal (PRAN) funded by World Bank and Proposal Evaluator for Social Inclusion Research Fund under SNV. She also held various consultancy roles for development projects in Nepal.
Mr. Basanta Kumar Kar, India, Member
Mr. Basanta Kumar Kar, an international development professional who has won many accolades in his career of over 30 years, brings to the nutrition sector his prolific knowledge and vast experience, having worked extensively at the grassroots in India as well as other South and South East Asian countries. Through his professional excellence, programme delivery skills, public interest orientation, innovative ideas, deep knowledge of the subject and empathy, he has demonstrated how intervention programmes can be suitably scaled up for maximising impact among the poor and marginalised. He has helped shape and influence country-level policy and legislations, created platforms and agenda to spread awareness in the sector. He has held leadership positions in the social development sector, and worked with major organisations like National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), ActionAid International, CARE, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), The Coalition for Food and Nutrition Security. He represents in numerous policy, advisory and technical bodies of the Government and civil society. For his outstanding contribution to nutrition in South Asia, Mr. Kar is recipient of the prestigious global ‘Transform Nutrition Champions’ award, and also the ‘Odisha Living Legend’ award for contribution to public policy. For his decades-long and unstinting contribution in championing the cause of sustainable food and nutrition security in India and globally, Mr. Kar is also known as the ‘Nutrition Man’. He holds a Degree in English Literature and Law and a Post Graduate Degree in Rural Management from a premier institute in Asia. Mr. Kar has authored many academic and research works.
Dr. M. A. Sattar Mandal, Bangladesh, Chair
Dr. M. A. Sattar Mandal, Emeritus Professor at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh, has been involved in teaching, research and policy planning in agriculture and rural development for over four decades. He completed his PhD from the University of London in 1979 and post-doc studies from the University of Oxford in 1986-87. He has worked as a visiting professor in many universities abroad including School of Development Studies of the University of East Anglia, UK in 1997 and 2000, and Faculty of Life Sciences of the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Kleve, Germany since 2013 through 2017.Major areas of Professor Mandal’s academic interests include agriculture and rural development, food and agricultural policy planning, irrigation and water resource management, agricultural technology, rural mechanization and agribusiness development. He was the Vice-Chancellor of BAU from 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the General Economics Division during 2000-2001 in the Planning Commission, the central Planning Organization of the Government of the Bangladesh. He is currently involved as a member of the Expert Pool of the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Bangladesh and has been a member of the Independent Steering Committee (ISC) for the new CGIAR research program on Fish AgriFood Systems (FISH) of WorldFish. He has had multiple advisory and consultancy roles with FAO, CIMMYT, WorldFish, Winrock, IFC and World Bank. He has led the preparation of various national policy documents and continues to influence agricultural policy till date.
Dr. Purvi Mehta, India, Co-Chair
Dr. Purvi Mehta currently serves as the Deputy Director and Head of Asia for agriculture at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, India. She received a PhD from the North Carolina State University in USA. She has worked with the CGIAR, as head of Asia for the International Livestock Research Institute and also as head of South Asia Biosafety program (IFPRI, USAID), and brings a blend of experience from Asia and Africa. She is on board of several organizations, including the International Alliance for Ecology and Health-Canada, International Centre for Rural Agriculture-Netherlands and the Board of National Commodity Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX). She is honorary professor at Amity University-India and visiting Scientist at Cornell University. She has been closely associated with several agriculture and nutrition policy platforms in India, South East Asia and Africa and serves on several committees and advisory panels. She was the recipient of Agriculture Today Award-2014, for her contributions to agriculture policies in South Asia. Dr. Mehta has two books and over 50 publications to her credit.
Dr. R. Hemalatha, India, Member
Dr. R. Hemalatha, MBBS, MD; took over as the 13th Director of the ICMR- National Institute of Nutrition in Dec 2017. She heads the largest Nutrition research organisation in the country that covers the spectrum from basic to public health. Dr Hemalatha has carried out extensive research in the realm of Nutrition, Infection and Immunity with special emphasis on women and child health. She has also worked in the area of preconception nutrition and the first 1000 days of life. She also conducted a battery of studies on probiotics and gut as well as vaginal microbiome profiling in pregnant women that have generated vital information on the impact of inflammation on foetal growth and pregnancy outcomes. Dr Hemalatha is an expert member of various task force committees of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India; Food Safety and Standards of India (FSSAI), National Technical Board on Nutrition and National Council of Nutrition of NITI Aayog. Dr. Hemalatha is recipient of Ponduri VR Rao Gold Medal, and Dr. Rajammal P Devadas Memorial Award. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences (FNAMS), Fellow of the International Union of Nutrition Sciences (FIUNS) and Fellow of the Telangana Academy of Sciences (FTAS). She has served as Joint Secretary of the Nutrition Society of India.
Dr. W.M.W. Weerakoon, Sri Lanka, Member
Dr. WMW Weerakoon has 34 years of experience in administration and research on Agronomy and Crop Physiology. He received his PhD from Oregon State University, USA. He has also trained at the International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), India, US EPA laboratory, Corvallis, Oregon, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines (PhD thesis research on Climate Change) and Rural Development Administration (Rice production training), Republic of Korea. He was the National coordinator of the National Rice Testing Program from 1998 until 2011. He has also worked as a research fellow at the US EPA Environmental Protection Laboratory at Corvallis, Oregon, USA, at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines and at the National Agricultural Research Center for Kyushu and Okinawa Region (KONARC), Kumamoto, Japan. He is also a recipient of the “2000 START Young Scientist Award” for the South Asia Region, Best Agriculture scientist of the year “ASDA award - 2009” and has received His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka Research Award for 10 times since 1999.
Dr. Tayan Raj Gurung, Bhutan, Member
Dr. Tayan Raj Gurung is a Senior Specialist (Farming Systems) at Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Thimphu, Bhutan. He has over 32 years of experience in farming systems and community based natural resource management research. He obtained his PhD degree in Human Geography and Regional Economics from the Département of Geography, Paris, France. He worked in the Council for RNR Research of Bhutan, Bhutan during 1987 to 2010 at various positions from Researcher (Farming systems), project team leader to Director (Regional Research Centre). In 2011 he was promoted as the Farming Systems Specialist in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests to support commercialization of agriculture and initiation of large scale agricultural farms. He was deputed to SAARC Agriculture Centre, Dhaka as Senior Program Specialist (NRM) during 2013-2018. He has special interest in conflict resolution in natural resources and connecting institutions and people.He received 2006 Ralf Yorque Memorial Competition Award for the best paper for his work on “Companion modelling, conflict resolution, and Institution building: sharing irrigation water in the Bhutan”. He has published over 50 articles, book chapters, and edited more than 15 books. He is also member of the following committees: Chairman of the Agriculture Curriculum Development of the Royal Education Council, Co-Chair of the National Organic Flagship Program of Bhutan, Co-Chair of the Agriculture Vision 2045, External Members Representation in the Programmes and Quality Committee of the Royal University of Bhutan and Chairman of the SAARC Technical Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.
Dr. Sandy Thomas OBE, United Kingdom, Member
Prof. Sandy Thomas OBE is the Director of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition. She is also Chair of the UK Food Standards Agency’s Science Council. Previously she headed the UK Government's Foresight Programme in the Government Office for Science, from 2006-2014. She trained as a scientist at the University of London (BSc Botany and Zoology, PhD Plant Genetics). She worked as an academic at the University of London for four years before joining the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex (1987-1997) where she focused on the life sciences, biotechnology and intellectual property rights. From 1997-2006, she served as Director of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. She has published widely on the development of public policy in science and has also served on several national committees.
Dr. Usha Jha, Nepal, Member
Dr. Usha Jha was appointed as a member of National Planning Commission effective from May 2018. She has served as an Academician at the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS), Rampur Chitwan from 1985 to 1995. She was deputed as the Campus Chief at the branch Campus, IAAS Sunder Bazar, Lamjung in 1995 and she worked there until 1998From 1998 till today, she has been working as a development worker in different status. Her work at Lamjung and Rampur has given her exposure to a wide range of development projects addressing women in agriculture. As a development worker, she has experienced working with NGOs, INGOs, Donors, and the UN which expanded her learning in different sectors of development from education, community economic empowerment, health, peace building, democracy and governance. She has participated in grassroots and national level research, program design, program implementation, monitoring /evaluation, reporting and advocacy. She has been nominated as a member of National Development Council, Government of Nepal, elected as the executive and the President of National NGOs network group against AIDs ( NANGAN), member of Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG) of UN-Women, Think Tank member of Ministry of Women Children and Social Welfare, Grant Management Committee Member of Project for Accountability in Nepal (PRAN) funded by World Bank and Proposal Evaluator for Social Inclusion Research Fund under SNV. She also held various consultancy roles for development projects in Nepal.
Mr. Basanta Kumar Kar, India, Member
Mr. Basanta Kumar Kar, an international development professional who has won many accolades in his career of over 30 years, brings to the nutrition sector his prolific knowledge and vast experience, having worked extensively at the grassroots in India as well as other South and South East Asian countries. Through his professional excellence, programme delivery skills, public interest orientation, innovative ideas, deep knowledge of the subject and empathy, he has demonstrated how intervention programmes can be suitably scaled up for maximising impact among the poor and marginalised. He has helped shape and influence country-level policy and legislations, created platforms and agenda to spread awareness in the sector. He has held leadership positions in the social development sector, and worked with major organisations like National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), ActionAid International, CARE, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), The Coalition for Food and Nutrition Security. He represents in numerous policy, advisory and technical bodies of the Government and civil society. For his outstanding contribution to nutrition in South Asia, Mr. Kar is recipient of the prestigious global ‘Transform Nutrition Champions’ award, and also the ‘Odisha Living Legend’ award for contribution to public policy. For his decades-long and unstinting contribution in championing the cause of sustainable food and nutrition security in India and globally, Mr. Kar is also known as the ‘Nutrition Man’. He holds a Degree in English Literature and Law and a Post Graduate Degree in Rural Management from a premier institute in Asia. Mr. Kar has authored many academic and research works.
Our Team Profile
Nanda Kumar Maharjan
Mr. Nanda Kumar Maharjan is an Agricultural Economist with experience in project management, fundraising proposal development and specialized in primary and secondary research. He has demonstrated leadership roles in implementation of livelihood projects and gained vast experience in designing, implementing and monitoring development projects for the improvement of livelihood of the communities.
Hem Raj Joshi
Mr. Hem Raj Joshi is working as Program and Finance Assistant at IIDS. He expertises on data research and is a part of the logistics team of the survey department. He has completed his Bachelors’ Degree in Business Administration from Liberty College, Pokhara University. Before joining IIDS he assisted in various projects funded by Taragaon Bikas Samiti.
Devendra Shrestha
Devandra Shrestha joined IIDS in May 1999, and since then has been specializing in the preparation of budget and all aspects of financial planning and control within IIDS. Prior to this, Mr. Shrestha has worked for about a decade in Mt. Everest Brewery as an Account Officer. completed Bachelors in Business Administration from Tribhuvan University in 1993.
Siddharth Chaturvedi
Siddharth Chaturvedi is a Senior Program Officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He is a professional with over 12 years of work experience across public, private sector, startups and multilaterals.
Dr. Morseda Chowdhury
Dr Chowdhury is the current Director of the SAPLING secretariat and the Health, Nutrition and Population Programme in BRAC. Her specialty lies in reproductive healthcare, nutrition, communicable and non-communicable diseases through community-based healthcare. As Co-chair of ORCZA, Executive Member of C-SUN and other platforms, she is shaping the global discourse on nutrition, MNCH and reproductive care.
Dr. Imran Ahmed Chowdhury
Dr. Imran Ahmed Chowdhury is currently working as a Programme Coordinator at BRAC. He has research and implementation experience for nine years with a specific focus on maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH), health care financing, Nutrition, and Health system change. He has combined his expertise in research, interdisciplinary system management, coordination skills, and medical knowledge in the public health sector while simultaneously working to do better for the vulnerable population.
Scionara Shehry
Scionara Shehry is the Manager of Advocacy and Communications at the Health, Nutrition, and Population Programme of BRAC. She has over 6 years of experience in marketing, behavioral change communications powered by insights from the grassroots and partnership building, and brings holistic experience of both private and development sector to advocate for social change and connect opportunities for collaboration among stakeholders in the projects she has been involved in. She is a former Unilever Future Leader, State Alumni and has represented Bangladesh in several global, coveted platforms.
Salman M. Serneabat
Working at BRAC Bangladesh for almost 2 years, Salman has been involved with multiple projects and communication campaigns. Currently, as the communications focal in the Branding and Outreach team of BRAC Health, he has successfully organized more than 12 events engaging with high level national and international stakeholders, as well as designed and strategised several visibility campaigns. With his previous experience working at BRAC SDP, he has extensive expertise in branding, content creation, digital marketing and public relations.
Tanjila Mazumder Drishti
Tanjila Mazumder Drishti is the Regional Lead for Asia at BRAC International's resource mobilization and partnership division. Drishti is a Bangladeshi development practitioner with 10 years of experience in international development. She has worked extensively across the areas of project management, communication for development (C4D), behavioral change communication (BCC), programme development, advocacy and partnership management.. Drishti represents Bangladesh on various global youth platforms and holds a Masters in Globalization, Business and Development from IDS, University of Sussex, United Kingdom.
Shantanu Das
DA seasoned economist, Shantanu has more than 25 years of experience in the field of international development. He has blended expertise in the design, implementation and evaluation of large-scale programmes, especially on agri-food systems, private sector development and climate. He currently leads IPE’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Practice and has worked across 15+ countries in Asia and Africa. He has worked with the Gates Foundation, World Bank, FCDO, GIZ, UNICEF, UNCDF
Raghwesh Ranjan
Raghwesh heads IPE Global Social and Economic Empowerment Practice and is a noted governance and institutional analysis specialist. He has worked extensively on nutrition, agriculture and climate resilience programmes in South Asia. He was the National Project Advisor for the DFID-supported Infrastructure for Climate Resilience & Growth (ICRG), wherein he designed programme interventions for farm & non-farm livelihoods development & environmentally sustainable agriculture. He was also a part of the FAO's steering group for developing a sustainable consumption report ahead of Rio+20.
Ashish Mukherjee
Ashish has more than 25 years of multidisciplinary experience in designing, implementing and evaluating large scale development programmes for the likes of the World Bank, ADB, DFID, CIFF, BMGF, etc. in several countries. He has spearheaded the implementation of multi-million-dollar programmes focusing on women, girls and adolescents in the domains of nutrition, public health and education. He is also the recipient of the IDEAS Best Global Evaluation Award 2019, for his outstanding work as the team leader of the UNICEF-commissioned Evaluation of the CARD and UNICEF Cash Transfer Pilot Project.
Niharika Srivastava
Niharika is a Senior Analyst with IPE’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Practice. She is trained in economics and is passionate about evidence-based policy and programming in the space of agri-food systems, climate and youth empowerment. She has conducted and managed large-scale studies for the Gates Foundation, GAIN, UNCDF, UNICEF, World Economic Forum across multiple countries in South Asia and Africa.
Dr. Biswash Gauchan
Biswash Gauchan is the Executive Director and Director of the Center for Economic Policy in IIDS. He served in UNDP in Nepal and Africa for 10 years in different capacities and went on to become a CEO of a Commercial Bank in South Sudan. He is the founder chairman of Shangri-la Development Bank and co-founder of Quest International College and Omega International School. He writes extensively on economic policy and geo-strategic issues relating to Nepal and South Asia.
Sanjeev Adhakari
Sanjeev Adhikari has a diverse set of experience in the food & agriculture sector in Nepal and India. He has expertise in agribusiness management and demonstrated leadership roles in a seed business company working with the team of seed production, warehousing, processing, manufacturing, retail marketing, and handling developmental projects working as a General Manager. He has worked as a researcher in various agriculture & social science researches while working in NARC - Khumaltar, ICAR-IIMR & several NGOs in Nepal and India.
Nanda Kumar Maharjan
Mr. Nanda Kumar Maharjan is an Agricultural Economist with experience in project management, fundraising proposal development and specialized in primary and secondary research. He has demonstrated leadership roles in implementation of livelihood projects and gained vast experience in designing, implementing and monitoring development projects for the improvement of livelihood of the communities.
Hem Raj Joshi
Mr. Hem Raj Joshi is working as Program and Finance Assistant at IIDS. He expertises on data research and is a part of the logistics team of the survey department. He has completed his Bachelors’ Degree in Business Administration from Liberty College, Pokhara University. Before joining IIDS he assisted in various projects funded by Taragaon Bikas Samiti.
Devendra Shrestha
Devandra Shrestha joined IIDS in May 1999, and since then has been specializing in the preparation of budget and all aspects of financial planning and control within IIDS. Prior to this, Mr. Shrestha has worked for about a decade in Mt. Everest Brewery as an Account Officer. completed Bachelors in Business Administration from Tribhuvan University in 1993.
Siddharth Chaturvedi
Siddharth Chaturvedi is a Senior Program Officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He is a professional with over 12 years of work experience across public, private sector, startups and multilaterals.
Dr. Morseda Chowdhury
Dr Chowdhury is the current Director of the SAPLING secretariat and the Health, Nutrition and Population Programme in BRAC. Her specialty lies in reproductive healthcare, nutrition, communicable and non-communicable diseases through community-based healthcare. As Co-chair of ORCZA, Executive Member of C-SUN and other platforms, she is shaping the global discourse on nutrition, MNCH and reproductive care.
Dr. Imran Ahmed Chowdhury
Dr. Imran Ahmed Chowdhury is currently working as a Programme Coordinator at BRAC. He has research and implementation experience for nine years with a specific focus on maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH), health care financing, Nutrition, and Health system change. He has combined his expertise in research, interdisciplinary system management, coordination skills, and medical knowledge in the public health sector while simultaneously working to do better for the vulnerable population.
Scionara Shehry
Scionara Shehry is the Manager of Advocacy and Communications at the Health, Nutrition, and Population Programme of BRAC. She has over 6 years of experience in marketing, behavioral change communications powered by insights from the grassroots and partnership building, and brings holistic experience of both private and development sector to advocate for social change and connect opportunities for collaboration among stakeholders in the projects she has been involved in. She is a former Unilever Future Leader, State Alumni and has represented Bangladesh in several global, coveted platforms.
Salman M. Serneabat
Working at BRAC Bangladesh for almost 2 years, Salman has been involved with multiple projects and communication campaigns. Currently, as the communications focal in the Branding and Outreach team of BRAC Health, he has successfully organized more than 12 events engaging with high level national and international stakeholders, as well as designed and strategised several visibility campaigns. With his previous experience working at BRAC SDP, he has extensive expertise in branding, content creation, digital marketing and public relations.
Tanjila Mazumder Drishti
Tanjila Mazumder Drishti is the Regional Lead for Asia at BRAC International's resource mobilization and partnership division. Drishti is a Bangladeshi development practitioner with 10 years of experience in international development. She has worked extensively across the areas of project management, communication for development (C4D), behavioral change communication (BCC), programme development, advocacy and partnership management.. Drishti represents Bangladesh on various global youth platforms and holds a Masters in Globalization, Business and Development from IDS, University of Sussex, United Kingdom.
Shantanu Das
DA seasoned economist, Shantanu has more than 25 years of experience in the field of international development. He has blended expertise in the design, implementation and evaluation of large-scale programmes, especially on agri-food systems, private sector development and climate. He currently leads IPE’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Practice and has worked across 15+ countries in Asia and Africa. He has worked with the Gates Foundation, World Bank, FCDO, GIZ, UNICEF, UNCDF
Raghwesh Ranjan
Raghwesh heads IPE Global Social and Economic Empowerment Practice and is a noted governance and institutional analysis specialist. He has worked extensively on nutrition, agriculture and climate resilience programmes in South Asia. He was the National Project Advisor for the DFID-supported Infrastructure for Climate Resilience & Growth (ICRG), wherein he designed programme interventions for farm & non-farm livelihoods development & environmentally sustainable agriculture. He was also a part of the FAO's steering group for developing a sustainable consumption report ahead of Rio+20.
Ashish Mukherjee
Ashish has more than 25 years of multidisciplinary experience in designing, implementing and evaluating large scale development programmes for the likes of the World Bank, ADB, DFID, CIFF, BMGF, etc. in several countries. He has spearheaded the implementation of multi-million-dollar programmes focusing on women, girls and adolescents in the domains of nutrition, public health and education. He is also the recipient of the IDEAS Best Global Evaluation Award 2019, for his outstanding work as the team leader of the UNICEF-commissioned Evaluation of the CARD and UNICEF Cash Transfer Pilot Project.
Niharika Srivastava
Niharika is a Senior Analyst with IPE’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Practice. She is trained in economics and is passionate about evidence-based policy and programming in the space of agri-food systems, climate and youth empowerment. She has conducted and managed large-scale studies for the Gates Foundation, GAIN, UNCDF, UNICEF, World Economic Forum across multiple countries in South Asia and Africa.
Dr. Biswash Gauchan
Biswash Gauchan is the Executive Director and Director of the Center for Economic Policy in IIDS. He served in UNDP in Nepal and Africa for 10 years in different capacities and went on to become a CEO of a Commercial Bank in South Sudan. He is the founder chairman of Shangri-la Development Bank and co-founder of Quest International College and Omega International School. He writes extensively on economic policy and geo-strategic issues relating to Nepal and South Asia.
Sanjeev Adhakari
Sanjeev Adhikari has a diverse set of experience in the food & agriculture sector in Nepal and India. He has expertise in agribusiness management and demonstrated leadership roles in a seed business company working with the team of seed production, warehousing, processing, manufacturing, retail marketing, and handling developmental projects working as a General Manager. He has worked as a researcher in various agriculture & social science researches while working in NARC - Khumaltar, ICAR-IIMR & several NGOs in Nepal and India.
Nanda Kumar Maharjan
Mr. Nanda Kumar Maharjan is an Agricultural Economist with experience in project management, fundraising proposal development and specialized in primary and secondary research. He has demonstrated leadership roles in implementation of livelihood projects and gained vast experience in designing, implementing and monitoring development projects for the improvement of livelihood of the communities.
Hem Raj Joshi
Mr. Hem Raj Joshi is working as Program and Finance Assistant at IIDS. He expertises on data research and is a part of the logistics team of the survey department. He has completed his Bachelors’ Degree in Business Administration from Liberty College, Pokhara University. Before joining IIDS he assisted in various projects funded by Taragaon Bikas Samiti.
Devendra Shrestha
Devandra Shrestha joined IIDS in May 1999, and since then has been specializing in the preparation of budget and all aspects of financial planning and control within IIDS. Prior to this, Mr. Shrestha has worked for about a decade in Mt. Everest Brewery as an Account Officer. completed Bachelors in Business Administration from Tribhuvan University in 1993.
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