Alison Dembo Rath leads Options' Technical and Management Support to the Government of Orissa’s health sector (2008–2010), which provides technical and management support to the Department of Health and Family Welfare's Health Systems Development Initiative. The programme is DFID-funded. Alison works closely with senior management in the Department of Health and Family Welfare and with DFID to identify steps on the reform pathway and guide technical assistance to reach agreed milestones.

Prior to this she led the Technical Assistance Support Team in West Bengal providing technical and management support to the Department of Health and Family Welfare’s Health Systems Development Initiative, also DFID-funded. Alison also directed the final stage of the DFID-funded Nepal Safer Motherhood Project, with responsibility for team leadership, policy and planning support to government and evaluation and dissemination of findings.

Alison has a strong track record in programme design, management, monitoring and evaluation. Her specific areas of technical expertise include capacity building for sexual health programmes, managing maternal health and contraceptive social marketing programmes; private sector provision of preventive health services and community-based malaria control.