After several years designing our operational research study on new treatment regimens for DR-TB, we started to enroll our first patients in 2021. The aim of the collaborative study is to prove the effectiveness of novel, all-oral, short-course regimens for patients with DR-TB and provide evidence for future developments in TB policy in Russia.

In 2021, more than 60 people were enrolled into the study in Arkhangelsk and Vladimir regions. By the end of the year, the first patients had completed their treatment and started the follow-up stage.

In Moscow and St Petersburg, MSF continued a partnership with two community-based NGOs providing prevention and treatment of HIV and hepatitis C for at-risk groups. The current project has been running since 2020, when it started to support people with COVID-19, and has been expanded to include care for other infectious diseases.

In 2021, in collaboration with MSF, one of our partner organisations set up a fixed medical unit in St Petersburg, providing medical consultations to people from vulnerable groups. We also ran training sessions on mental health and burnout prevention for the medical and patient support team.