MSF Focus on India

We fill gaps in India’s health system and provide specific medical care to neglected people who would otherwise struggle to access it.

We have a number of long-standing projects in India, which we run in conjunction with the state authorities to address specific healthcare needs and emerging public health concerns.

We also run mobile clinics in remote areas of the country, where even preventable, treatable conditions such as malaria can assume life-threatening proportions.

Shanti, Health Educator, Umeed ki Kiran — Health educators work tirelessly in the Jahangirpuri community: walking around looking for groups of men, women and children to educate them about sexual and domestic violence, devising new and innovative methods to spread awareness, and raising awareness of the services Umeed Ki Kiran Clinic provides. The priorities are encouraging victims of domestic and sexual violence to seek medical care, and trying to dismantle the community's perception of shame and taboo associated with sexual violenc, instead teaching them to care for their physical and mental health. © Nanda / MSF

MSF in India

In India, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continued to provide treatment for patients living with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) and HIV, and medical and psychological care for people affected by conflict and violence.
India IAR map 2022

Through our independent clinic and outpatient department (OPD) managed in collaboration with Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) we provide medical and psychosocial care to people living with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DRTB). Most of our patients come from Mumbai - a city of 22 million people, 43,464 of whom have TB, and 10 per cent whom are infected with drug-resistant strains of the disease. We also offer screening, diagnosis and specialised care for TB, HIV and hepatitis C in four clinics in the north-eastern state of Manipur. In addition, we provide care for people with advanced HIV in Bihar, one of the most populous states in India.

In the capital, Delhi, we provide medical and psychological care to survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and raise awareness about the importance of seeking timely medical and psychological care. We work with community-based organisations, police, government protection agencies and the health ministry to highlight the clinic’s services and create an efficient referral system. We also engage the community in discussions on domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse.

Our activities in 2022

In the capital, New Delhi, we run a clinic for victims of sexual and gender-based violence, offering round-the-clock care. In December, we organised a national-level symposium calling for better access to medical and psychological care for victims.

Throughout the year, we provided mental health and psychosocial support to people affected by the conflict in Kashmir, and ran mobile clinics offering basic healthcare to communities in remote areas of Chhattisgarh.

In Mumbai, MSF’s clinic focuses on treating complex cases of DR-TB, including extensively drug-resistant forms of the disease, with innovative drug combinations. For children under five, we implement all-oral regimens, thereby avoiding the need for painful injections.

In addition, we are working with the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme and Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to reduce the high TB incidence and death rates in the area. Our team co-manages a DR-TB centre in a public hospital, and we support diagnosis, treatment, counselling, health promotion and follow-up in general healthcare facilities.

In 2022, we also continued treating patients enrolled in the endTB clinical trial, with the aim of generating more evidence for shorter, more tolerable, injection-free treatments for multidrug-resistant TB.

Our project in Manipur implements a person-centred care approach for people living with HIV, TB, DR-TB and hepatitis C. We transferred many of our stable HIV patients to Ministry of Health facilities, enabling us to focus on those with co-infections and complications. We also run a one-stop care centre offering comprehensive services for intravenous drug users.

In one of India’s poorest states, Bihar, we provide both lifesaving and palliative care to patients living with advanced HIV.

Our toll-free telemedicine helpline supports diabetes patients to manage their condition. India has the second-highest burden of diabetes globally, and the prevention and management of the disease, as well as its associated complications, remain a huge challenge.