In 2023, our team in the capital, Minsk, continued to provide technical support and assistance to the national TB programme. Following the publication of the World Health Organization’s updated guidelines in December 2022, which recommended the programmatic use of a new, six-month, all-oral treatment regimen for multidrug-resistant TB, MSF supported its implementation across the country.
 
We also continued to support the treatment of hepatitis C in the penitentiary system, using new, more effective drugs, and training medical staff in chronic hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment.
 
Since October 2021, our medical teams have been supporting people on the move in various locations across the country, including Belarus–EU border areas, providing humanitarian assistance and facilitating access to medical and mental health care.

After two years of these activities, MSF found that the medical needs of people on the move were outweighed by their needs for protection and legal support, which requires the specialist expertise of dedicated organisations. With this in mind, we made the difficult decision to conclude these activities in Belarus.