Hindustan Metro profiled Anand ahead of the Geneva launch of Follow Your Heart, tracing a journey "across corporate offices, international development organisations and rural Bihar" — from a decade at Airtel and PepsiCo, to a panel seat at the UN Social Forum in 2024, to the work of Ananda Foundation in Sikaria, Nawada.
The article describes the book's central message: that a meaningful life need not follow a predetermined route, and that professional experience can become a foundation for a deeper social purpose.
The Hindi daily Sanmarg reported from Patna that Anand Priya Deo — a native of Nawada district — had "created history", joining the ranks of authors whose books are launched at United Nations headquarters.
The article followed the memoir's launch tour: the Frankfurt International Book Fair on Sunday, a special launch at the UN premises in Geneva on Tuesday in the presence of UN officials and former colleagues, and a book talk at the Global Campus of Human Rights in Venice on 16 October. It also traced his path from Airtel and PepsiCo to the UN human rights office in Geneva and international development work across Africa and Southeast Asia.
The story was also carried online by Kashish News under the headline "बिहार के आनंद ने रचा इतिहास" — "Bihar's Anand creates history".
Dainik Jagran — one of India's largest-circulation Hindi newspapers — covered Ananda Foundation's menstrual health outreach program at Rajkiya Madhya Vidyalaya in Ranchi.
The article reported on Dr. Kamini Prasad, the foundation's founder and health expert, distributing sanitary pads to adolescent girls at the government school. Beyond distribution, the session included awareness on what girls may experience during menstruation, when to seek medical advice, and how to speak openly with parents and teachers.
The article highlighted the organisation's call for broader community awareness — urging women and families in the area to break the silence around menstrual health. Girls received guidance on hygiene, health and nutrition alongside the pads, and were encouraged to discuss these topics at home.
This coverage marked an important moment — national Hindi language media recognising grassroots menstrual health work in a district that rarely makes the headlines.
The European Master's Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (EMA) featured Ananda Foundation's founder in the inaugural issue of its Global Campus Alumni Newsletter, published March 2026.
The profile documents Anand Deo's journey from his early work at the UN Office for Human Rights in Geneva through his roles with Medic Mobile and the Grameen Foundation, to his return to Bihar in 2019 and the founding of Ananda Foundation.
The newsletter highlighted his approach of grounding change in proximity to communities: "Change begins when you stay close to people's realities — and allow their needs to guide your work."
The feature drew attention to the foundation's evolution — from initial health camps and pad distribution to vocational training, organic farming and the planned pad manufacturing unit — as a model of slow-built, locally-rooted development that contrasts with short project-cycle approaches.
Anand Deo's professional path has been shaped by a conscious decision to pursue work grounded in proximity to communities rather than in institutional comfort. His early experience at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva introduced him to global anti-discrimination frameworks, while his master's thesis — comparing the situation of Dalit communities in India with marginalised groups in Nigeria — strengthened his awareness of how structural inequality plays out across different contexts.
After completing the European Master's Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (EMA, Cohort 2013), Anand worked with Medic Mobile and the Grameen Foundation on community health, women's empowerment and livelihoods across Asia and Africa. In 2019, he returned to his home region in Bihar, founding Ananda Foundation and beginning work in Sikariya that continues to grow today.
"Change begins when you stay close to people's realities — and allow their needs to guide your work."
Current role: Founder, Ananda Foundation · Mumbai & Sikariya, Bihar
Author: Follow Your Heart · Bluerose Publishers, 2026
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