Maharashtra, India

Increasingly drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB) are on the rise in India, particularly in hotspots such as Mumbai. Two new TB drugs, bedaquiline and delaminid, are proving to be the very last lifeline for tuberculosis (TB) patients with the most extreme forms of drug resistance show promising results and offer renewed hope to patients whose TB strains are resistant to nearly all drugs available. But access to these new life-saving drugs in India remains greatly restricted; Delamanid is currently only available in India through so-called compassionate use, where a special application for importing the drug needs to be made for each patient. While a few patients benefit from these new drugs in India, many die before being able to access them as they are not widely available.

ongoing project