India has made strides in improving the health, well-being and lives of infants and expecting mothers over the last several decades. But once children enter school and enter adolescence, they get lost as a public priority till they enter adulthood.

Adolescence is a time of great physical, physiological and intellectual development and upheaval for all of us. Adolescents also need special protection of their rights, especially their sexual and reproductive health and rights. On Episode 122 of The Pragati Podcast, Dr. Lakshmi Lingam, Dr Rama Shyam and Gurpriya Singh talk to host Pavan Srinath about the challenges faced by adolescents across India, especially girls.

This episode was made possible thanks to the Ab Meri Baari campaign run by the Dasra 10 to19 Collaborative. The campaign aims to improve the lives of adolescent girls between the ages of 10 and 19, and empower them. As a part of the campaign, 300 girl champions were selected across Jharkhand and Rajasthan to conduct a social audit of all government services directed towards them. Dasra is a philanthropic organisation that facilitates social change by driving collaborative action between funders, development organisations and communities.

Dr Lakshmi Lingam is a Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and a gender-specialist. Dr Rama Shyam runs the Empowerment, Health & Sexuality of Adolescents (EHSAS) programme at SNEHA, Mumbai and is the co-founder of SAFER - the Society for Awareness, Harmony and Equal Rights. Gurpriya Singh is a development professional working at Dasra, where she has most recently been working on the Ab Meri Baari campaign implementing social and behavioral change strategies in Jharkhand and Rajasthan.

If you have any questions or comments, write in to [email protected]. To learn more about the campaign, visit abmeribaari.in.

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