Ghasiram Panda

With over 27 years of experience in development sector including Child Rights, I have had the opportunity to be a part of, as well as lead and manage Child Protection programming in ActionAid till 31st March 2025 and now in UNICEF as a consultant. Through my career, I have spearheaded programmes, technical interventions and advocacy initiatives that have resulted in actional impact for children, adolescent, and young people. At the core of my interventions has been a commitment to ensuring justice and creating an enabling environment for children, where they continue to thrive.

Consultant on Child Protection at UNICEF (Present)

• Working as Consultant, UNCEF on Child Protection.

Child Protection programming at ActionAid (2025-03)

• Led and managed Child Protection programming in ActionAid till 31st March 2025.

Reference group member at Girls Not Brides

• Worked as reference group member to develop a working paper on Child Protection and Child, Early and Forced Marriage and Unions by Girls not Bride, a global body against child marriage.

Active member at Young Voices

• Worked as an active member of the national forum “Young Voices” group to facilitate debates on raising of marriage age of girls, teenage pregnancy and motherhood, adolescent health.

Honorary advisor at Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR)

• Provided technical support in strengthening Right to Education in policy front, capacity building support to Education Departments and Child Protection Units.
• Provided support to the Odisha State commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) in making the Temporary Medical center (Quarantine Centers) during COVID 19 child friendly.
• Have been instrumental in designing the campaign “No one should sleep under the open sky” by the Odisha State commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) and State Urban Development Agency (SUDA).

Member, state level committee for monitoring Shelters for Urban Homeless (SUH) at Housing & Urban Development Department, Government of Odisha (Present)

• Provided technical support to link the children and women in SUHs with different schemes and programmes and ensure safety and security of these identified children.

Member, State Level Committee on Ending Child Marriage at Women and Child Development Department, Government of Odisha (Present)

• Provided sustained coordination, facilitation, analytical and monitoring support to women and child development resulting in notification and implementation of guidelines, government orders, SoPs that ensured continuity of CP services.

Facilitator, Global Programming on Ending Child Marriage at UNICEF

• Facilitated implementation of Global Programing on Ending Child Marriage with the support of UNICEF in 62 districts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan and West Bengal. This involved developing a state strategy action plan in Odisha, district action plan in all the 62 districts, leveraged resources through different schemes and programs to empower young people, their participation and ending child marriage.

Programme and campaign contributor at Government of Odisha

• Formulated and implemented campaign like “Say Yes to Schools and No to Child Marriage” covering 62 districts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan and West Bengal. As a result, numbers of children were identified and brought back to schools. Funds leveraged from the School and Mass Education department for ICT.
• Contributed to development of schemes like ADVIKA – A path to adolescent empowerment, addressing harmful social norms, ending violence against children and child marriage in Odisha.
• Provided technical support to district administration of 25 districts in Odisha for vulnerability mapping of children. Orphans, children with single parents and other child in need of care and protection were identified. The production of these children before the Child Welfare Committees are in process to ensure their best interest.
• Have been instrumental in conceptualizing and rolling out of “A Day for Children” – a fixed day once in a quarter to review and plan for protection of children in every district and monitored by the Women and Child Development Department, Odisha.
• Have been instrumental in developing a model along with District Administration of Subarnapur, Odisha on supporting teenage pregnant and mothers named “Sanjivanee – the new life” which is now being replicated in other districts of Odisha. More than 900 adolescents pregnant and mother provided support through counselling in Subarnapur, Jharsuguda and Boudh districts of Odisha.
• Supported District Administrations of Odisha in developing micro campaigns involving 13 different line departments and other non-state stakeholders.
• Worked with different caste, tribes, religious and other such traditional leaders and facilitated the process of socio-behavioral change. As a result, numbers of traditional groups came up with resolutions against child marriage.
• Conducted situation analysis report on child marriage in Odisha and the implementation status of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act in Odisha. Both documents helped in building evidence on the status and impact of child marriage and created a scope to develop the first State Strategy Action Plan on Ending Child Marriage.
• Initiated Balya Bibaha Pratirodh Manch, A forum of adolescents have said no to child marriage and provided leadership training to young people. Learnings from this forum were used to develop the new scheme ADVIKA.
• Initiated the first child marriage free village in Odisha (Rugudipali village in Subarnapur district). This was considered as a best practice by the Women and Child Development department and shared with all the Collectors for replications. The success of this intervention lead to the development of a state guideline to make child marriage free villages and wards in urban localities. Now more than 1400 villages of the state have been declared as child marriage free.
• Provided support to the School and Mass Education Department, Government of Odisha in bringing the order to make school premises as ‘Discrimination Free Zone” and removal of the caste tag in the schools of Odisha.
• Designed an online course “Fundamental of Child Rights” and managing the course as the course director.

MA in Sociology – Directorate of Distance Education, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar (2002 – 2004)

B.Ed – College of Teacher Education, Balangir (2001 – 2002)

+3 Sc (Hons) – Rajendra College, Balangir (1990 – 1993)

DCA – Kalinga computers, Balangir (2002-02 – 2002-07)