Russia

In Russia, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) provides drugs and technical advice to support the treatment of patients with the most severe forms of TB. In 2020, we launched several new activities.

Our teams are working on a study in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, which aims to prove the effectiveness of all-oral novel short-course regimens for patients with DR-TB. In 2021, more than 60 people were enrolled on the study in the regions of Arkhangelsk and Vladimir. By the end of 2021, the first patients completed their treatment and started the follow-up stage.

In Moscow and St. Petersburg, we continue our partnership with two community-based NGOs, offering healthcare to vulnerable people, including those living with HIV. The current project has been running since 2020 and has expanded its support from COVID-19 to additional infectious diseases.

Since the war in Ukraine began, approximately 1.5 million people have fled the country, of whom more than 53,000 have sought safety in Russia. We have set up teams in Russia to explore the humanitarian and medical needs of refugees and displaced people.

28

STAFF IN 2021 (FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT

€1.8

1.8

EXPENDITURE IN 2021

1992

YEAR MSF FIRST WORKED IN THE COUNTRY

MSF IN RUSSIA IN 2021 In Russia, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) works with the health authorities in Arkhangelsk and Vladimir regions to reduce the burden of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) and improve treatment for the disease.

After several years of designing our operational research study on new treatment regimens for DR-TB, we started to enrol 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 on 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.