The Southern Asia Division (SUD) is comprised of four countries: Bhutan, India, the Maldives and Nepal. It has more than 4,000 churches in a population of about 1.2 billion.
Hope TV India started in 2008 in the southeastern city of Chennai. This is the first Adventist television channel in the country and is broadcast 24/7. Hope Channel programs are available in Hindi, Tamil, English, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu.
India has the largest membership of this division. The Adventist Church in this country operates six educational entities and 12 health institutions.
Church structure began to grow around clinics and hospitals founded by early missionaries. Today this is still the case in many areas in this division. In Nepal, Scheer Memorial Hospital is a major regional healthcare institution in Banepa, just outside of Kathmandu. The country recently adopted a secular constitution, which expanded religious freedom.
Many supporting ministries of the Adventist Church also operate institutions. Asian Aid School for the Blind in Bobbili, Andhra Pradesh, enrolls about 100 students, many of whom are orphans.