Biography

I am the founder President of Community Network for Empowerment (CoNE), which is non-profit organization in Manipur, India. I am a former drug user living with HIV for the last 20 years. I have been working in the field of viral hepatitis since 2014, both in the state and at the national level. I am currently serving as a Member in the Steering Committee of the Manipur State Management Unit of the National Viral hepatitis Control Program.

Under my leadership CoNE has delivered impactful programs and models, including same day test and treat of hepatitis C. CoNE’s work has also led to development of

• Publication of HCV prevalence data among people who use drugs in Manipur and
• Publication of Community led Monitoring of HIV and Viral Hepatitis service: lessons learned and impacts from India and Indonesia as a field note in the Journal of the International AIDS Society.
• Publication of Comparison of Serological Immune Response to Hepatitis B Vaccine Following Rapid or Standard Regimen in People Who Inject Drugs in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology
• Publication of Decentralised same day test and treatment of hepatitis C levering existing peer support networks among men who inject drugs: feasibility and effectiveness in the Harm Reduction Journal

CoNE’s work on hepatitis C has also won several global awards and felicitation, including top 5 global innovative testing model competition organized by WHO, best abstract in international symposium featuring in several WHO presentations and policy documents.