About Us
Our Legacy
Our Legacy
Our legacy at YRG MERF is built upon a foundation of innovation, integrity, and impact. Since our inception, we have been committed to driving positive change and delivering exceptional value to our beneficiaries and communities. Our journey is marked by a relentless pursuit of excellence, fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement. We take pride in our rich history of achievements and the lasting relationships we have cultivated over the years. As we look to the future, we remain dedicated to upholding our core values and advancing our mission to create a sustainable and prosperous world for generations to come.
Our legacy at YRG MERF is built upon a foundation of innovation, integrity, and impact. Since our inception, we have been committed to driving positive change and delivering exceptional value to our beneficiaries and communities. Our journey is marked by a relentless pursuit of excellence, fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement. We take pride in our rich history of achievements and the lasting relationships we have cultivated over the years. As we look to the future, we remain dedicated to upholding our core values and advancing our mission to create a sustainable and prosperous world for generations to come.
“Our small gestures make a big difference”
“Our small gestures make a big difference”
Dr. Suniti Solomon
Founder, YRG MERF
Historical Impact & Contribution
Historical Impact & Contribution
Since 1994, we are striving to drive
positive change
Since 1994, we are striving to drive
positive change
Published 500+ Research Studies
Published 500+ Research Studies
YRG MERF’s 500+ peer-reviewed studies on HIV, TB, and Viral Hepatitis, published in leading global journals, have influenced treatment approaches and shaped health policies worldwide.
Published 500+ Research Studies
Empowered Marginalised Communities
Empowered Marginalised Communities
Since 1993, YRG MERF initiatives have provided stigma free care to 400K+ individuals. Our multiple innovative projects have empowered communities across India. (PWID, LGBTQI+, PLHIV, adolescents).
Empowered Marginalised Communities
Early HIV Infection (EHI) Research
Early HIV Infection (EHI) Research
YRG MERF’s early HIV research has identified key biomarkers and improved diagnostics, transforming detection and monitoring in resource-limited settings, and enhancing treatment outcomes for thousands.
Early HIV Infection (EHI) Research
HIV-1 Drug Resistance in Indian Women Failing First-Line Therapy
HIV-1 Drug Resistance in Indian Women Failing First-Line Therapy
YRG MERF’s research on blood–genital tract HIV resistance discordance has improved diagnostics, treatment, and policy in resource-limited settings, guiding global protocols, vaccine development, and prevention strategies for lasting impact.
HIV-1 Drug Resistance in Indian Women Failing First-Line Therapy
Timeline
Timeline
Here We Are. And We Go Further...
Research. Reach. Recognition.
500+ global publications | 400,000+ lives reached | Work spanning HIV, TB, Hepatitis, NCDs, and India's most marginalized communities. Our journey until now has been full of learning and we hope to serve the communities better. From documenting India's first HIV case to reaching 634 districts. From one clinic to 600+ settings. From stigma to dignity.
Here We Are. And We Go Further...
Research. Reach. Recognition.
500+ global publications | 400,000+ lives reached | Work spanning HIV, TB, Hepatitis, NCDs, and India's most marginalized communities. Our journey until now has been full of learning and we hope to serve the communities better. From documenting India's first HIV case to reaching 634 districts. From one clinic to 600+ settings. From stigma to dignity.
Here We Are. And We Go Further...
Research. Reach. Recognition.
500+ global publications | 400,000+ lives reached | Work spanning HIV, TB, Hepatitis, NCDs, and India's most marginalized communities. Our journey until now has been full of learning and we hope to serve the communities better. From documenting India's first HIV case to reaching 634 districts. From one clinic to 600+ settings. From stigma to dignity.
2025
TB-Free Schools
School Programs: Chennai, Pune, Satara, Gorakhpur-active case-finding, stigma reduction, education. Catching TB before classrooms become transmission zones. Adult Care Too: Community screening, treatment support, contact tracing-because TB doesn't stop at school gates and neither do we.
2025
TB-Free Schools
School Programs: Chennai, Pune, Satara, Gorakhpur-active case-finding, stigma reduction, education. Catching TB before classrooms become transmission zones. Adult Care Too: Community screening, treatment support, contact tracing-because TB doesn't stop at school gates and neither do we.
2025
TB-Free Schools
School Programs: Chennai, Pune, Satara, Gorakhpur-active case-finding, stigma reduction, education. Catching TB before classrooms become transmission zones. Adult Care Too: Community screening, treatment support, contact tracing-because TB doesn't stop at school gates and neither do we.
2024
Unprecedented Reach
SOCH (Strengthening Overall care for HIV beneficiaries): We provide technical support and capacity building to strengthen community-led HIV prevention and care delivery systems. DISHA (District-level Interventions for Strengthening HIV/AIDS services): We deliver district-level supportive supervision and capacity-building across 634 aspirational districts - ensuring that quality HIV services reach India's most underserved communities. 23 Community Support Centres for PLHIV across Delhi, Rajasthan, and Odisha. Diabetes awareness programs in UP schools - preventing tomorrow's epidemic today.
2024
Unprecedented Reach
SOCH (Strengthening Overall care for HIV beneficiaries): We provide technical support and capacity building to strengthen community-led HIV prevention and care delivery systems. DISHA (District-level Interventions for Strengthening HIV/AIDS services): We deliver district-level supportive supervision and capacity-building across 634 aspirational districts - ensuring that quality HIV services reach India's most underserved communities. 23 Community Support Centres for PLHIV across Delhi, Rajasthan, and Odisha. Diabetes awareness programs in UP schools - preventing tomorrow's epidemic today.
2024
Unprecedented Reach
SOCH (Strengthening Overall care for HIV beneficiaries): We provide technical support and capacity building to strengthen community-led HIV prevention and care delivery systems. DISHA (District-level Interventions for Strengthening HIV/AIDS services): We deliver district-level supportive supervision and capacity-building across 634 aspirational districts - ensuring that quality HIV services reach India's most underserved communities. 23 Community Support Centres for PLHIV across Delhi, Rajasthan, and Odisha. Diabetes awareness programs in UP schools - preventing tomorrow's epidemic today.
2023
Blue Shed Project
Blue Shed, Delhi: Harm reduction for people who inject drugs-medical care, OST, testing, nutrition. No sobriety requirements. Just humanity. Meeting Them There: You don't earn the right to health-harm reduction is dignity first, pathways to treatment always, judgment never. Whole Person Support: Mental health, government health linkages, social protection, peer wisdom-roots of pain, not just symptoms.
2023
Blue Shed Project
Blue Shed, Delhi: Harm reduction for people who inject drugs-medical care, OST, testing, nutrition. No sobriety requirements. Just humanity. Meeting Them There: You don't earn the right to health-harm reduction is dignity first, pathways to treatment always, judgment never. Whole Person Support: Mental health, government health linkages, social protection, peer wisdom-roots of pain, not just symptoms.
2023
Blue Shed Project
Blue Shed, Delhi: Harm reduction for people who inject drugs-medical care, OST, testing, nutrition. No sobriety requirements. Just humanity. Meeting Them There: You don't earn the right to health-harm reduction is dignity first, pathways to treatment always, judgment never. Whole Person Support: Mental health, government health linkages, social protection, peer wisdom-roots of pain, not just symptoms.
2022
Integrated Health
In 2023, we formally expanded into an integrated health model, bringing non-communicable disease care - including diabetes and hypertension - into our continuum of services. This marked an important evolution in our work, recognising that the communities we serve are not defined by a single condition, and neither should the care they receive be. By addressing chronic diseases alongside infectious conditions, mental health, and psychosocial needs, we began building a more holistic system of care - one that responds to the full realities of people’s lives, not fragmented diagnoses. Because communities deserve comprehensive health, not disconnected services.
2022
Integrated Health
In 2023, we formally expanded into an integrated health model, bringing non-communicable disease care - including diabetes and hypertension - into our continuum of services. This marked an important evolution in our work, recognising that the communities we serve are not defined by a single condition, and neither should the care they receive be. By addressing chronic diseases alongside infectious conditions, mental health, and psychosocial needs, we began building a more holistic system of care - one that responds to the full realities of people’s lives, not fragmented diagnoses. Because communities deserve comprehensive health, not disconnected services.
2022
Integrated Health
In 2023, we formally expanded into an integrated health model, bringing non-communicable disease care - including diabetes and hypertension - into our continuum of services. This marked an important evolution in our work, recognising that the communities we serve are not defined by a single condition, and neither should the care they receive be. By addressing chronic diseases alongside infectious conditions, mental health, and psychosocial needs, we began building a more holistic system of care - one that responds to the full realities of people’s lives, not fragmented diagnoses. Because communities deserve comprehensive health, not disconnected services.
2021
Project Sabrang
Rainbow Means Belonging: Hyderabad, Thane, Pune, Lucknow clinics where trans/LGBTQIA+ people access care without erasing identity-Sabrang = rainbow. Complete Care: Hormones, sexual health, HIV/STI services, mental health-not fragments, the whole person seen and celebrated. Lived Experience Leading: Peer navigators, trauma-informed teams, community co-design-healthcare shaped by those it serves, not imposed on them.
2021
Project Sabrang
Rainbow Means Belonging: Hyderabad, Thane, Pune, Lucknow clinics where trans/LGBTQIA+ people access care without erasing identity-Sabrang = rainbow. Complete Care: Hormones, sexual health, HIV/STI services, mental health-not fragments, the whole person seen and celebrated. Lived Experience Leading: Peer navigators, trauma-informed teams, community co-design-healthcare shaped by those it serves, not imposed on them.
2021
Project Sabrang
Rainbow Means Belonging: Hyderabad, Thane, Pune, Lucknow clinics where trans/LGBTQIA+ people access care without erasing identity-Sabrang = rainbow. Complete Care: Hormones, sexual health, HIV/STI services, mental health-not fragments, the whole person seen and celebrated. Lived Experience Leading: Peer navigators, trauma-informed teams, community co-design-healthcare shaped by those it serves, not imposed on them.
2020
Innovation at Scale
One-stop centres for transgender communities, migrant support programs, and healthcare across 600+ prisons interventions. Among India's first to roll out HIV self-testing and PrEP, alongside differentiated care models that put people first.
2020
Innovation at Scale
One-stop centres for transgender communities, migrant support programs, and healthcare across 600+ prisons interventions. Among India's first to roll out HIV self-testing and PrEP, alongside differentiated care models that put people first.
2020
Innovation at Scale
One-stop centres for transgender communities, migrant support programs, and healthcare across 600+ prisons interventions. Among India's first to roll out HIV self-testing and PrEP, alongside differentiated care models that put people first.
2017
Deepening Community Roots
Our work expanded to place mental health, psychosocial care, and community empowerment at its core - recognising that true health extends beyond medicine to wellbeing, resilience, and social support.
2017
Deepening Community Roots
Our work expanded to place mental health, psychosocial care, and community empowerment at its core - recognising that true health extends beyond medicine to wellbeing, resilience, and social support.
2017
Deepening Community Roots
Our work expanded to place mental health, psychosocial care, and community empowerment at its core - recognising that true health extends beyond medicine to wellbeing, resilience, and social support.
2016
Honouring Her Spirit
Dr. Suniti Solomon was posthumously awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India - a national tribute to a life defined by courage, conviction, and unwavering service. This honour stands not only as recognition of her scientific brilliance, but of a rare moral leadership that transformed fear into understanding, stigma into care, and silence into action.
2016
Honouring Her Spirit
Dr. Suniti Solomon was posthumously awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India - a national tribute to a life defined by courage, conviction, and unwavering service. This honour stands not only as recognition of her scientific brilliance, but of a rare moral leadership that transformed fear into understanding, stigma into care, and silence into action.
2016
Honouring Her Spirit
Dr. Suniti Solomon was posthumously awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India - a national tribute to a life defined by courage, conviction, and unwavering service. This honour stands not only as recognition of her scientific brilliance, but of a rare moral leadership that transformed fear into understanding, stigma into care, and silence into action.
2015
A Void That Drives Us Forward
On July 28, we lost Dr. Suniti Solomon - India’s HIV pioneer, our founder, our moral compass. She taught us that science, without compassion, is incomplete; that research must always lead to care, and knowledge must always serve dignity. Her absence is immeasurable. But so is her presence - in every clinic that opens its doors, in every community that finds its voice, in every life touched, protected, and restored. This work continues because of her. And it continues for all those who still need us.
2015
A Void That Drives Us Forward
On July 28, we lost Dr. Suniti Solomon - India’s HIV pioneer, our founder, our moral compass. She taught us that science, without compassion, is incomplete; that research must always lead to care, and knowledge must always serve dignity. Her absence is immeasurable. But so is her presence - in every clinic that opens its doors, in every community that finds its voice, in every life touched, protected, and restored. This work continues because of her. And it continues for all those who still need us.
2015
A Void That Drives Us Forward
On July 28, we lost Dr. Suniti Solomon - India’s HIV pioneer, our founder, our moral compass. She taught us that science, without compassion, is incomplete; that research must always lead to care, and knowledge must always serve dignity. Her absence is immeasurable. But so is her presence - in every clinic that opens its doors, in every community that finds its voice, in every life touched, protected, and restored. This work continues because of her. And it continues for all those who still need us.
2010
Going National
Through strategic partnerships across multiple states, our work expanded beyond a few cities into a national movement for health equity - taking integrated care, research, and community engagement to where the need was greatest.
2010
Going National
Through strategic partnerships across multiple states, our work expanded beyond a few cities into a national movement for health equity - taking integrated care, research, and community engagement to where the need was greatest.
2010
Going National
Through strategic partnerships across multiple states, our work expanded beyond a few cities into a national movement for health equity - taking integrated care, research, and community engagement to where the need was greatest.
2009
Confronting India's Twin Epidemics
We strengthened integrated tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis, and treatment - recognising that TB and HIV do not exist in silos, and neither should care. In the same spirit, we launched Camp Rainbow, our signature programme for children living with HIV, created to nurture confidence, belonging, and possibility - empowering every child to see their worth, live with dignity, and dream without limits.
2009
Confronting India's Twin Epidemics
We strengthened integrated tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis, and treatment - recognising that TB and HIV do not exist in silos, and neither should care. In the same spirit, we launched Camp Rainbow, our signature programme for children living with HIV, created to nurture confidence, belonging, and possibility - empowering every child to see their worth, live with dignity, and dream without limits.
2009
Confronting India's Twin Epidemics
We strengthened integrated tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis, and treatment - recognising that TB and HIV do not exist in silos, and neither should care. In the same spirit, we launched Camp Rainbow, our signature programme for children living with HIV, created to nurture confidence, belonging, and possibility - empowering every child to see their worth, live with dignity, and dream without limits.
2006
Expanding Our Mission
Our work grew to include viral hepatitis prevention, testing, and care - extending our commitment to populations too often left outside formal health systems. We also launched our first satellite clinic in Andhra Pradesh in partnership with the Indian Red Cross, marking a pivotal shift toward decentralised care - taking services beyond urban centres and into rural communities where access is often the greatest barrier.
2006
Expanding Our Mission
Our work grew to include viral hepatitis prevention, testing, and care - extending our commitment to populations too often left outside formal health systems. We also launched our first satellite clinic in Andhra Pradesh in partnership with the Indian Red Cross, marking a pivotal shift toward decentralised care - taking services beyond urban centres and into rural communities where access is often the greatest barrier.
2006
Expanding Our Mission
Our work grew to include viral hepatitis prevention, testing, and care - extending our commitment to populations too often left outside formal health systems. We also launched our first satellite clinic in Andhra Pradesh in partnership with the Indian Red Cross, marking a pivotal shift toward decentralised care - taking services beyond urban centres and into rural communities where access is often the greatest barrier.
Early 2000s
Shaping Global Policy
Our early research on HIV infection and drug resistance helped redefine scientific understanding of the epidemic - informing diagnostic approaches, strengthening treatment protocols, and contributing to international guidelines. Through this work, evidence from India entered the global knowledge base, positioning Indian HIV science not only as a participant, but as a leader in shaping how the world responds to the epidemic.
Early 2000s
Shaping Global Policy
Our early research on HIV infection and drug resistance helped redefine scientific understanding of the epidemic - informing diagnostic approaches, strengthening treatment protocols, and contributing to international guidelines. Through this work, evidence from India entered the global knowledge base, positioning Indian HIV science not only as a participant, but as a leader in shaping how the world responds to the epidemic.
Early 2000s
Shaping Global Policy
Our early research on HIV infection and drug resistance helped redefine scientific understanding of the epidemic - informing diagnostic approaches, strengthening treatment protocols, and contributing to international guidelines. Through this work, evidence from India entered the global knowledge base, positioning Indian HIV science not only as a participant, but as a leader in shaping how the world responds to the epidemic.
1999-2000
Building Scientific Excellence
In 1999, we established a specialised HIV laboratory to strengthen diagnostics, monitoring, and clinical decision-making at a time when such capacity was rare in India. In 2000, this foundation expanded through partnerships with Johns Hopkins University, Brown University, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health to launch a state-of-the-art Infectious Diseases Laboratory - bringing global scientific collaboration into direct service of local care.
1999-2000
Building Scientific Excellence
In 1999, we established a specialised HIV laboratory to strengthen diagnostics, monitoring, and clinical decision-making at a time when such capacity was rare in India. In 2000, this foundation expanded through partnerships with Johns Hopkins University, Brown University, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health to launch a state-of-the-art Infectious Diseases Laboratory - bringing global scientific collaboration into direct service of local care.
1999-2000
Building Scientific Excellence
In 1999, we established a specialised HIV laboratory to strengthen diagnostics, monitoring, and clinical decision-making at a time when such capacity was rare in India. In 2000, this foundation expanded through partnerships with Johns Hopkins University, Brown University, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health to launch a state-of-the-art Infectious Diseases Laboratory - bringing global scientific collaboration into direct service of local care.
1997
A Home for Healing
We opened a dedicated inpatient care facility for people living with HIV at a time when fear kept many hospital doors shut. When others turned patients away, we chose to welcome them in. Here, care was not only clinical. It was compassionate. It was safety, dignity, and the radical belief that every life deserved to be held, treated, and protected.
1997
A Home for Healing
We opened a dedicated inpatient care facility for people living with HIV at a time when fear kept many hospital doors shut. When others turned patients away, we chose to welcome them in. Here, care was not only clinical. It was compassionate. It was safety, dignity, and the radical belief that every life deserved to be held, treated, and protected.
1997
A Home for Healing
We opened a dedicated inpatient care facility for people living with HIV at a time when fear kept many hospital doors shut. When others turned patients away, we chose to welcome them in. Here, care was not only clinical. It was compassionate. It was safety, dignity, and the radical belief that every life deserved to be held, treated, and protected.
1994-1995
Breaking the Silence
We launched India’s first HIV counselling centre to create a safe space for testing, support, and truth in a time when fear, misinformation, and moral judgement dominated public discourse. This work was not easy to begin in a country where HIV was spoken about in whispers, where stigma often outweighed science, and where seeking a test could mean risking rejection, violence, or isolation. Opening these doors required courage - from those who walked in, and from those who chose to stand with them. Here, silence was replaced with listening. Fear with facts. And isolation with care.
1994-1995
Breaking the Silence
We launched India’s first HIV counselling centre to create a safe space for testing, support, and truth in a time when fear, misinformation, and moral judgement dominated public discourse. This work was not easy to begin in a country where HIV was spoken about in whispers, where stigma often outweighed science, and where seeking a test could mean risking rejection, violence, or isolation. Opening these doors required courage - from those who walked in, and from those who chose to stand with them. Here, silence was replaced with listening. Fear with facts. And isolation with care.
1994-1995
Breaking the Silence
We launched India’s first HIV counselling centre to create a safe space for testing, support, and truth in a time when fear, misinformation, and moral judgement dominated public discourse. This work was not easy to begin in a country where HIV was spoken about in whispers, where stigma often outweighed science, and where seeking a test could mean risking rejection, violence, or isolation. Opening these doors required courage - from those who walked in, and from those who chose to stand with them. Here, silence was replaced with listening. Fear with facts. And isolation with care.
1994
YRG MERF is Born
YRG MERF (YRG Medical, Educational, Research Foundation) was founded in Chennai with a singular, audacious purpose - to deliver ethical, compassionate, and stigma-free HIV care and research at a time when fear outweighed facts and people living with HIV were routinely turned away from hospitals, families, and society. From the beginning, YRG MERF was envisioned not merely as a clinic, but as a movement. A place where cutting-edge science would walk hand in hand with deep humanity. Where marginalised communities would not be studied from a distance, but served, protected, and centred. Where trust would be built patiently, one person at a time.
1994
YRG MERF is Born
YRG MERF (YRG Medical, Educational, Research Foundation) was founded in Chennai with a singular, audacious purpose - to deliver ethical, compassionate, and stigma-free HIV care and research at a time when fear outweighed facts and people living with HIV were routinely turned away from hospitals, families, and society. From the beginning, YRG MERF was envisioned not merely as a clinic, but as a movement. A place where cutting-edge science would walk hand in hand with deep humanity. Where marginalised communities would not be studied from a distance, but served, protected, and centred. Where trust would be built patiently, one person at a time.
1994
YRG MERF is Born
YRG MERF (YRG Medical, Educational, Research Foundation) was founded in Chennai with a singular, audacious purpose - to deliver ethical, compassionate, and stigma-free HIV care and research at a time when fear outweighed facts and people living with HIV were routinely turned away from hospitals, families, and society. From the beginning, YRG MERF was envisioned not merely as a clinic, but as a movement. A place where cutting-edge science would walk hand in hand with deep humanity. Where marginalised communities would not be studied from a distance, but served, protected, and centred. Where trust would be built patiently, one person at a time.
1986
Where it All Began
Dr. Suniti Solomon identified and documented India’s first set of HIV cases, bringing scientific clarity to what was then an unnamed and deeply feared illness. This moment marked not only a medical discovery, but the beginning of India’s organised response to a new and unfolding epidemic. Her work transformed uncertainty into evidence, and evidence into action. It set in motion a national conversation, a public health movement, and eventually, a system of care that would reach millions.
1986
Where it All Began
Dr. Suniti Solomon identified and documented India’s first set of HIV cases, bringing scientific clarity to what was then an unnamed and deeply feared illness. This moment marked not only a medical discovery, but the beginning of India’s organised response to a new and unfolding epidemic. Her work transformed uncertainty into evidence, and evidence into action. It set in motion a national conversation, a public health movement, and eventually, a system of care that would reach millions.
1986
Where it All Began
Dr. Suniti Solomon identified and documented India’s first set of HIV cases, bringing scientific clarity to what was then an unnamed and deeply feared illness. This moment marked not only a medical discovery, but the beginning of India’s organised response to a new and unfolding epidemic. Her work transformed uncertainty into evidence, and evidence into action. It set in motion a national conversation, a public health movement, and eventually, a system of care that would reach millions.
