An MSF staff member converses with Anam (name changed), a 17-year-old DRTB (Drug Resistant Tuberculosis) patient and her mother outside the MSF DRTB Clinic, Chembur, Mumbai.

Anam (name changed on request), a bright 17-year-old, excels not only at English and Science in school but is an equally good Mehndi/henna artist. She tells us happily that she has completed a professional Mehndi course and learnt needlework. She aspires to become a fashion designer.
She scrolls through her phone gallery, bringing up photos of the bridal henna designs that she has created. As her hand moves over the screen, there is a contrast between those delicate designs and the pattern on her own hand from the PICC Line (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter).
Anam was first diagnosed with pulmonary TB at the age of nine. Before her diagnosis, she frequently had a cough and a fever. When her mother initially took her to a doctor, she was suspected of having double typhoid.
Being diagnosed with TB at such a young age came as a blow to Anam’s family, who had no history of the disease.  Her mother later got to know that Anam studied with around eight to ten TB positive patients in school. The stigma around the disease is so strong that other children or their families never informed the school authorities. The parents feared that their children would be expelled, bullied, harassed or discriminated against. Anam’s mother decided that it was important to break this lethal chain. She informed the Principal and did not send Anam to school for the next five months.
For 14 months, Anam received treatment at a private hospital with support from her immediate family and friends. However, the treatment did not work and her symptoms such as weight loss and vomiting worsened. The treatment at the private hospital cost her family around Rs 5,500 monthly (Rs 2,500 for medicines and Rs 3,000 for tests). In February 2021 she was finally diagnosed with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) at a government DR-TB centre.  She was put on a DR-TB regimen, however subsequent investigations revealed additional resistance to other drugs as well. She suffered from cough, fever and weight loss. Since her condition was not improving with the treatment received so far, she ultimately came to MSF.
At the MSF Clinic, Anam was put on a regimen of the oral drugs bedaquiline, delamanid, linezolid and amoxicillin, and an intravenous treatment with the injection imipenem. This regimen was built for her based on her resistance to certain drugs and she has been taking it for the last one and a half years.
Anam’s mother says, “We have been through a very rough patch, but we found help every step of the way. The psychosocial support in terms of counselling, and the medical support that we received at the MSF clinic reduced our financial and medical treatment worries.”
Despite constant encouragement and support, every day Anam is also witness to another TB story unfolding outside her bedroom window. The impact of stigma and lack of awareness about TB is having serious consequences for a girl not much older than Anam in the neighbouring house. Anam recalls distraught conversations with her ‘window friend’: how she has been locked inside her room because of the disease; how her parents have abandoned her; and the irregularity of her meals. Anam’s mother says that their neighbours don’t allow other community members to help them. Bereft of medical and psychosocial support, her ‘window friend’ developed suicidal tendencies that resulted in one failed attempt to jump off the roof.
Anam realises that her friend’s parents may have prevented the suicide attempt, yet they contributed nothing to alleviating the everyday suffering. No proper treatment is sought, she says. Anam’s mother tried to counsel the girl’s parents but they are reluctant to listen to anyone.
The story of Anam and her ‘window friend’ highlights the importance of medical treatment and psychosocial support in TB treatment, and the importance of raising awareness around the disease and fighting stigma.  And for Anam, even a small dream like hanging out with friends on a vacation post-recovery, keeps her going.

India

An MSF staff speaks with Anam*, a 17-year-old patient living with drug-resistant tuberculosis, and her mother outside the MSF clinic in Chembur. Mumbai, India, May 2023.

In Mumbai, we treat complex cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis and work with health authorities to reduce high tuberculosis incidence and death rates in the area. We also provide comprehensive care to people living with advanced HIV in Bihar, essential healthcare via mobile clinics in remote areas of Chhattisgarh, and mental health services in Jammu and Kashmir.

Our activities in 2025 in India

Data and information from the International Activity Report 2025.

511

STAFF IN 2025 (full-time equivalent)

9.7 M€

9.7M

Expenditure in 2025

1999

Year MSF first worked in the country

MSF in India in 2025 In India, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) works to fill gaps in services for marginalised communities, including treatment for infectious diseases, mental health support, and essential healthcare.

Country map for the IAR 2025.

In Bihar, people living with advanced HIV have limited options for treatment, and a high death rate due to co-infections with other infectious diseases. Our patients also live with economic vulnerability, intense social stigmatisation related to HIV, and exclusion, all of which impact their ability to access and adhere to treatment. Working with the Bihar state Department of Health and Family Welfare, MSF provides specialised inpatient treatment, including management of physical symptoms, psychosocial support, and palliative care, at Guru Gobind Singh hospital in Patna. We also provide specialised care for people living with HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis C, and co-infections of the diseases through several clinics in Manipur state, in northeast India. In addition to screening, diagnosing, and treating direct patients, we also extend care to their families to curb disease spread.

Our clinic in Zokhawthar, Mizoram state, located at the India–Myanmar border, continues to deliver comprehensive general healthcare to displaced and host communities. We also conduct health promotion activities at the clinic, in communities, and in nine settlements and camps in the area, and organise specialist referrals to Champhai district hospital and facilities in Aizawl, the state capital.

The long-standing unrest in Chhattisgarh state entered a new phase in 2025, as government security forces intensified their operations against Maoist rebels. Despite increasing tensions, MSF was able to maintain essential health services for people living in rural villages around Bijapur. Our teams travelled over tough terrain to run regular mobile clinics in six different locations, where we provided treatment for malaria, respiratory infections like pneumonia, skin diseases, and malnutrition, and offered reproductive health services. In Jammu and Kashmir, mental health remains a critical yet often overlooked concern. MSF teams continue to offer counselling services at hospitals and health centres in Pulwama, Srinagar, Tral, and Sopore. Our teams work to raise awareness, promote understanding, and break the stigma of mental illness, and provide practical tools to promote mental wellbeing.

In 2025

13,700

13,7

individual mental health consultations

10,200

10,2

malaria cases treated

1,000

1,

people with advanced HIV under direct MSF care

270

27

people started on treatment for TB, including 13 for MDR-TB

An animated video explainer on the neglected tropical disease kala azar, and on kala azar-HIV co-infection. The video also explains the work MSF does on the disease in India. MSF has been focusing on the treatment of kala azar-HIV co-infection in partnership with the Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS) in Patna, Bihar since 2016. Until October 2018, MSF has treated over 700 co-infected patients.

Have you heard of kala azar?

Kala azar is a neglected but potentially fatal tropical disease. India accounts for 30 per cent of cases worldwide.

This short animation explains what kala azar is, how it relates to HIV, and what we are doing in response.

Since 80 per cent of India's kala azar cases are reported in Bihar, we set up a programme there in 2007.

People living with HIV are particularly vulnerable to kala azar, so since 2016 we have been focusing on treating patients co-infected with the two diseases, in partnership with the Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS) in Patna, Bihar.

Filter Tips

Try a different country, year, format, or topic.
Clear one or more filters

Contact us

"I barely had the physical strength to stand, let alone understand how I had not one, but three potentially fatal diseases. During my stay with MSF, I learnt about how the three diseases spread and how to take care of myself. I was treated for kala azar and tuberclosis and put on antiretroviral medication for HIV."
Zoya, who has been treated for kala azar-HIV co-infection and tuberculosis at MSF's ward in Patna, Bihar talks to Chavvi Kumar, Health Promoter at MSF.

MSF India

5th Floor, Okhla NSIC Metro Station Building
New Delhi – 110020
India

India

ဘာသာစကား

English

About Us

What we do

Where we work

MSF Websites

India

Our activities in 2025 in India

511

511

9.7 M€

9.7M

1999

1999

13,700

13,7

10,200

10,2

1,000

1,

270

27

Explaining kala azar-HIV co-infection

Have you heard of kala azar?

Kala azar is a neglected but potentially fatal tropical disease. India accounts for 30 per cent of cases worldwide.

Contact us

India

79%

79%

16%

16%

5%

5%