India Needs Community-Driven Approach To Tackle Adolescent Health Challenges: Experts" - World News Network

VMPL
New Delhi [India], October 18: Sukarya was serving local communities since 1998. They have worked at grassroots level to serve 34 slums in Delhi and Gurugram, 30 villages in Nuh District (Haryana) and 30 in Khairthal-Tijara District of Rajasthan.
“Our vision was very clear that women’s health is inseparable from empowerment. To strengthen women’s financial ability, we have launched the Women’s Economic Empowerment program, helping them to earn and lead. In addition, with our Gender Equality Program we have trained over 20,000 adolescent girls including 8,550 trained certified between 2022 and 2025”, highlighted Ms. Meera Satpathy, Founder & Chairperson, Sukarya.
Sukarya has recently organized the 3rd International Conference on Public Health and Nutrition (ICPHN 2025) in New Delhi in partnership with the Gates Foundation, Dasra, the University of Washington USA, and Maastrich University Netherlands and Rotary Club of Delhi Midtown and IGEP as a special partner.
According to NFHS-5 data 56 per cent of adolescent girls are anaemic and one in four adolescents is under- or overweight. India must treat adolescence as its “second window of growth” and invest urgently in nutrition, education, and healthy food systems to avert a future health and productivity crisis, experts said during the two-day conference.
This year, our focus was shifted to “Advancing Adolescent Health, Nutrition and Well-being,” bringing together global and local partners to safeguard the health, rights, and potential of young people of India.
Through our RMCHN, adolescent health programs, we have scaled our proven models, with care, awareness, and empowerment where they are needed the most. Sukarya’s guiding belief is “Begin from home and Begin when Young,” added Ms Satpathy.
During the inaugural address Dr. Zoya Ali Rizvi, Deputy Commissioner, Nutrition and Adolescent Health, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, underscored that our national focus is on preventive health and behavioral change.
“We are witnessing a paradigm shift; our effort is not just to treat illness but to prevent the early onset of non-communicable diseases by creating a culture of health literacy and self-care among young people. The aim is to reach every state and every adolescent with programs that don’t just prescribe solutions but enable ownership of health.”
Ms. Kanta Singh, Country Representative (OIC), UN Women India, brought a deeply personal reflection to the conversation. Drawing from her journey from rural Haryana to global leadership, she emphasized how exposure, education, and sports can transform young lives.
“Sports gave me wings before I even knew I could fly,” she said. “It taught me confidence, discipline, and the courage to step outside my comfort zone. For girls, mobility is empowerment and empowerment is health.”
“Health outcomes don’t improve by systems alone; they improve when communities take ownership,” added Ms. Meera Satpathy, Founder & Chairperson, Sukarya.
Bringing an academic lens, Dr. Fransisca Handy Agung, Associate Professor, Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University of Pelita Harapan, Indonesia, spoke on the neurological and social complexities of adolescence.
“Adolescents are like aircraft preparing for takeoff,” she said. “They face turbulence from peers, parents, and policy, yet they are wired for creativity, risk, and transformation.”
Sukarya’s decades-long commitment, showing that the future of public health is nurtured in homes, schools, and communities, where people learn to care for themselves and one another. The conversations in Delhi highlighted how Sukarya’s hands-on solutions in health, nutrition, and empowerment are transforming public well-being from the ground up.
“Despite 27 years of dedicated service, Sukarya continues to grapple with a pressing challenge: securing prompt and strategic CSR partnerships that can provide the necessary funding consistently to hire skilled professionals. These experts are vital to advancing transformational change across India’s national development landscape–especially within the constraints of a limited budget,” said Ms. Satpathy.
We’re grateful to our funding partners, Girls Opportunity Alliance, ERAN Fund, Give2Asia, Sukarya USA, and the Herbalife Nutrition Foundation, and our CSR partners, Wipro Cares, OakNorth Bank, Fidelity International, Resbird Technologies, Krishna Maruti, OYO, PwC, and Hughes Systique, for standing with us in advancing programs focused on health, gender equality, and education. Their continued support has helped strengthen community-based initiatives and expand our on-ground impact.
About Sukarya’s (https://sukarya.org/ICPHN2025/)
Sukarya is a GuideStar India Platinum-certified NGO and an accredited member of Credibility Alliance for Desirable Norms, reflecting our commitment to transparency, accountability, and impact. Over the last 27 years, Sukarya has transformed the lives of more than 7.5 million people across 790+ villages and 210 urban slums in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh through grassroots-driven programs. Key areas of work include: Reproductive Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health and Nutrition (MCHN); Education for Slum Children (ages 6-14) and Gender Equality for Adolescent Girls (ages 11-19); Women’s Economic Empowerment.
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