In Arkhangelsk and Vladimir, we continued to collaborate with the local health authorities and Northern State Medical University, implementing a nine-month DR-TB treatment course. The medication is all oral, which means patients do not have to have painful injections, and it is easier to tolerate. In the near future, we plan to start enrolling patients on an even shorter course – just six months – that has recently been recommended by the World Health Organization. 

In Moscow and St Petersburg, in cooperation with two community-based NGOs, we provided treatment for patients living with HIV, and medical consultations for people with little access to healthcare, including those who had crossed into Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine. We also supported our partner NGO in Moscow to run a mobile clinic serving people living in vulnerable circumstances, offering medical and social assistance. 

In 2022, we started to support people who had arrived in Voronezh, Belgorod and Rostov regions in southern Russia, after fleeing from the conflict in Ukraine. Through regional NGOs, we organised a team of local doctors, psychologists and social workers to ensure that they received the necessary medical care in authorised medical institutions. MSF also covered gaps in healthcare and offered financial support to pay for medications and medical consultations when needed. In addition, we donated urgently needed items, such as food, hygiene kits and essential household items, to local organisations, which supported more than 20,000 newly arrived people.