New Program for Hepatitis C Treatment Launched in Georgia

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi 

Last week, new program of public healthcare was launched in Georgia. Before that, Government of Georgia declared 2015 as the year to fight against C Hepatitis. 200 000 people with Hepatitis C in Georgia (6.7% of Georgian population) are looking forward to the program; it aims to provide patients with medicines, diagnostic and other necessary services with high standards.

Specialists clarify that expensive medicines of new generation, which will arrive in Georgia from USA in a few days, give high guarantee to heal Hepatitis C and do not have side effects.

Thousands people are looking forward to the medicines arrival in Georgia. Moreover, the medical treatment in the frame of the program will be free. However, it is questionable how available the program will be for all infected patients, who will have privileges and when it will cover full contingent of patients. 

“My husband has been infected for 7 years. He has grave health conditions and we cannot afford his medical treatment. Two years ago I took analysis and found out that I am also infected. As you know this diagnose is almost death verdict unless you take proper medical treatment. Nowadays we have hope for recovery if we also join the program,” Maka Arabidze, 32, told humanrights.ge.

Minister of Healthcare Davit Sergenko stated: “The program will cover period from three to five years and all patients will take part in it that will need treatment. However, first of all it will assist socially indigent people and patients with more grave conditions. The most important thing is that people will no longer die of Hepatitis C in Georgia.”

Free medical treatment program for Hepatitis C was launched in penitentiary establishments throughout the country on March 1, 2014. 

“This program has been actively implemented in our facility and it aims to diagnose, prevent and treatment of Hepatitis C. By now 4 700 prisoners were examined. 519 of them had Hepatitis C. About 100 prisoners take medical treatment now. Of course the figure will increase according to the circumstances because there are patients, who cannot join the program due to various criteria. However, later they will take repeated examination and then they will also take medical treatment,” chief doctor at Kutaisi Prison # 2 Natalia Revishvili told humanrights.ge.

Besides convicts and accused people, prison personnel and other people, who contact infected patients, will also participate in the program – they will be examined but only convicts will be treated.

Chairman of the healthcare and social issues commission at the Kutaisi City Council Temur Nadiradze said it is necessary to make Hepatitis C treatment available for everybody. He said healthcare and social field are main priorities of the Kutaisi local government; so they plan different activities in this direction.

“Significant steps were taken to address this problem throughout the country. Government does everything to make the treatment free like it is in penitentiary establishment. We, the local authority, will try to contribute to this significant campaign. First of all we took care of socially indigent people, who cannot afford medical treatment,” Temur Nadiradze said.

Project on the Management and Elimination of Hepatitis C will simultaneously launch throughout the country; besides medicines patients will receive free diagnostic services too. The service costs 800-1200 lari in our country that is unavailable for thousands of beneficiaries; for that reason the disease is very urgent problem.

The process will show whether the new program will be successful and will change current hard situation in the country.