Behavioral science · Public health · Development

Designed for the people who actually exist.

Most programs are built for the people we wish existed. Anthrolens closes the gap between what programs intend and what people do, using behavioral science, applied research, and human-centered design.

18+ years across programs funded by
USAID Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Packard Foundation Takeda Foundation
The premise

Public health campaigns assume people act on information. Financial products assume customers compare options rationally. Workplace policies assume employees follow incentives as designed. People do none of these things consistently.

The behavioral gap is where most programs lose impact. A well-funded campaign with strong messaging can fail because it ignores how decisions get made in real households, clinics, and workplaces.

Anthrolens diagnoses that gap and designs interventions that work with human behavior rather than against it. We have applied this approach across maternal and newborn health, family planning, nutrition, climate resilience, and adolescent SRHR.

We work with NGOs, donors, UN agencies, government, and mission-driven businesses.

What we do

Five ways we help programs change behavior.

01

Behavioral diagnostics

Why your program is not getting the change it expects

Rapid qualitative and observational research to identify the real barriers between intent and action. Goes beyond demographics and KAP studies.

02

Intervention design

Choice architecture, friction removal, message reframing

Targeted nudges and structural changes designed around the actual decision points your users face. Built to be testable.

03

Pilot testing & evaluation

Rapid prototyping, A/B testing, mixed-methods evaluation

Test before you scale. We design and run pilots that produce clear evidence about what works, what does not, and why.

04

Formative research

Applied research with IRB oversight

Qualitative and mixed-methods studies that go beneath surface attitudes. Designed for use, not just publication.

05

Capacity building

Workshops and embedded coaching

For teams that want to build internal behavioral capability. We train, embed, and hand off.

Sectors

Where the work lands.

Maternal & newborn health
Child health & nutrition
Family planning & SRHR
Adolescent health
WASH
Financial inclusion
Education
Climate adaptation

Principal

Sohrab Hussain
Public health specialist

Maternal, newborn, child & adolescent health · Health systems strengthening · Behavior change · Applied research

18+
Years in the field
15+
Districts worked in
3
Countries (BD, BF, ET)
9+
Peer-reviewed papers
Who runs Anthrolens

Eighteen years of building things that actually scale.

Sohrab has worked on programs funded by USAID, the Gates Foundation, the Packard Foundation, and the Takeda Foundation. He led learning documentation for the USAID MaMoni Health Systems Strengthening project, documented the first community-based pilot of 7.1% Chlorhexidine through Bangladesh's public health system, and supported the first Kangaroo Mother Care units in public hospitals.

He spent more than seven years at Pathfinder International, including as country lead for the Gates-funded (re)solve project across Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, and Ethiopia, and as manager of the USAID AUAFP program across 15 districts and 6 partner NGOs.

He holds a Professional Certificate in Climate Change and Health from the University of Dhaka and Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Anthropology from Jahangirnagar University. He serves as an External Reviewer for the IRB at the BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health.

Read full background
Track record

Selected work that moved the needle.

USAID · MaMoni HSS

First community pilot of 7.1% Chlorhexidine in Bangladesh's public health system

Designed and documented the Habiganj pilot for newborn cord care, generating the evidence base that informed national rollout.

Gates Foundation · SNL

First Kangaroo Mother Care units in public hospitals

Led the facility assessment whose recommendations established KMC corners at 6 sub-district, 1 district, and 3 national hospitals.

Gates Foundation · (re)solve

Country lead for a 3-country behavioral design program

Applied human-centered design to family planning uptake among female garment workers. Solutions were adopted into the national FP program.

USAID · AUAFP

Adolescent SRHR programming across 15 districts

Managed sub-grants with 6 partner NGOs, building inclusive programming for transgender communities, ethnic minorities, tea garden workers, and climate-vulnerable populations.

Get in touch

Working on something where behavior matters?

First conversation is free. We will be honest if Anthrolens is not the right fit for your problem.

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