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Solidarity and Against
The HIV Infection
in India (SAATHII)
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Tea garden workers participating in a Participatory Learning
and Action (PLA) activity
Founded by Dr. Sai Subhasree Raghavan
in 2002
With the motto of ‘Expanding
Access, Reducing Discrimination
and Promoting Inclusion’, SAATHII,
or Solidarity and Against The
HIV Infection in India, strives for
universal access to health and rights
for the most marginalized. It focuses
on strengthening and expanding
stigma-free access to healthcare, and
legal and social protection services
for communities discriminated
due to their gender identity and/or
sexuality, HIV and/or TB vulnerability.
SAATHII currently supports private
and public sector hospitals in 24
states and union territories, and
works towards the reduction of
neonatal mortality to at least as low
as 12 per 1,000 live births; it further
aims to contribute to the reduction of
MMR to less than 70 deaths /1,00,000
live births by 2030.
, the stigma faced by
people with HIV and other diseases like TB
oen deprives them of their right to quality
healthcare. Solidarity and Action Against
the HIV Infection in India, or SAATHII,
seeks to change this narrative of exclusion.
‘Our work extends beyond inclusion in
healthcare to inclusion in education,
workplaces, legal aid and government
schemes to reach unreached persons and
communities,’ says Dr. Sai Subhasree
Raghavan, ounder of SAATHII. Although
its initial interventions focussed on HIV,
learnings from these were applied to other
areas of health, such as TB, maternal and
child health, transgender health, and more.
SAATHII works with a range of partners
for its interventions. It strengthens service
provider groups and community collectives
through training in technical aspects
of treatment and care, advocacy, grant
writing, etc. It works as a technical advisor
to governments, providing training and
mentorship on treatment and diagnostics.
It is the technical partner for national
programmes including maternal and child