India: MSF to support Bihar’s COVID-19 response by providing personal protective equipment (PPE)

New Delhi, India: As the number of people with COVID-19 continues to rise across India, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is supporting the Bihar State Government by providing crucially needed personal protective equipment for frontline healthcare workers. This includes N-95 masks, eye/face protection, gloves and high quality body protection. In addition, viral transport mediums used … Read more

Bihar: Meeting medical care needs of people with advanced HIV

On 25 January 2019, MSF inaugurated Garima Ki Kiran clinic in Bihar with a purpose to reduce the number of deaths among patients with advanced HIV by increasing their access to care for life-threatening infections. On the completion of clinic’s first year, we bring you stories of how patients fight this deadly infection together with … Read more

Video: Explaining kala azar-HIV coinfection

Kala azar or visceral leishmaniasis a neglected tropical disease and the second-largest parasitic killer in the world. India accounts for over 30% of the total kala azar cases in the world. 80% of these cases occur in Bihar. Since 2007, MSF is providing treatment for kala azar in Bihar. While there has been a sharp … Read more

Zoya’s story: "I have returned from the brink of death"

Name : Designation : Interview conducted and written by Kavitha Devadas for MSF As well as suffering a lack of awareness and social stigma, kala azar-HIV co-infected patients are also prone to other infections, relapse more often and are at a greater risk of death. 39-year-old Zoya shares her story of recovery after being treated for … Read more

Bihar: MSF conducts orientation programme on kala azar-HIV co-infection for care coordinators, ART counsellors and PLHIV+ group members

Kala azar Elimination is not possible without addressing the emerging issue of kala azar-HIV coinfection. As a disease that affects the most vulnerable and poorest in society, the deep-rooted stigma and the inadequate state of health facilities make this coinfection an urgent public health concern. The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders / Médecins … Read more

Bihar: A deadly cocktail

Treating kala azar-HIV co-infection in Bihar Kala jwar. Black fever. Dumdum fever. Visceral leishmaniasis. These are the many names by which kala azar is known. The disease spreads through the bite of a sandfly or balu makkhi and is almost always fatal if left untreated. India accounts for 50 per cent of the global burden of kala azar, and Bihar … Read more

Bihar: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar visits MSF project in Patna

Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been fighting kala azar in Bihar since 2007 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recently visited the MSF-run HIV–kala azar co-infection ward at the Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS) Hospital in Patna, Bihar. Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar, Union Health Minister Shri JP Nadda … Read more