This is a marked departure and improvement, the authors conclude, from the earlier top-down system. Other researchers detail the rising importance of NGOs in forging partnerships with the government and the growing private sector, in defining and articulating reproductive health needs, and in monitoring services. Swapna Mukhopadhyay and Jyotsna Sivaramayya explore the potential for using the panchayat as an instrument at the community level for women's empowerment and sustaining interest in reproductive health issues over the long term. Panchayats are elected bodies that serve as organs of governance at the village level to promote the process of democratic decentralization. Currently, one-third of the seats in panchayats are reserved for women.
Several chapters focus on reaching neglected population groups, particularly adolescent girls.
Sagri Singh examines the policy environment in the country and discusses recent policies and programmes that aim to address the multiple needs of adolescents and youth. Her key messages are that the government and NGOs must form true partnerships to move the agenda forward and that youth must be brought in as equal partners in the process. Masuma Mamdani discusses the work of NGOs with adolescents in rural, urban, and tribal communities. She examines the prevailing gender norms that impede access to health and education for adolescent girls and underscores the importance of designing appropriate services for this target group. As past programmes focused mainly on birth control, many reproductive health problems were not addressed.