Uttara Bharath Kumar
Senior Program Officer II & Team Leader
Technical Advisor for Social and Behavior Change (SBC)
Team Leader for Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) India
Uttara Bharath Kumar works on the research, design, implementation and evaluation of global interventions that address social, structural and behavioral barriers to positive health outcomes. Since 1993, she has worked in health areas ranging from RNMCH, HIV/AIDs, TB and malaria to non-communicable diseases, including cancers and mental health. Drawing from behavioral science, design thinking, entertainment-education and other SBC approaches, some of the programs she has led in Africa and Asia, have won prestigious awards. She has led SBC courses in 15 countries, including the annual South Asia Regional workshop on Leadership in Strategic Communication (LSC) since 2012. She has also been closely involved in founding and mentoring locally-governed SBC organizations in India and Zambia. She is a member of the WHO Advisory Board on Behavioral Science for Better Health. She holds an Associate position in the Department of Health Behavior and Society, teaching courses on Designing Health Communication Programs for Social and Behavior Change and Decoloniality in Global Health Communication.