Dear colleagues, we pay our respect to you and inform you about the following.
On 19 November 2020 in Kyiv, at a press conference that took place at “Ukrinform” Ukrainian National Information Agency, a Concept for interdepartmental and intersectoral support for moving to the human needs-oriented TB treatment model (hereinafter – Concept) was presented.
The Concept had been developed by experts of non-governmental organisations that form part of “Stop TB Together” Coalition of Organisations” All-Ukrainian Association of Public Organisations. The work of developing a mechanism for implementing in Ukraine the multidepartmental and multisectoral approach in the area of TB control had been going on for the last ten years. In particular, in 2016-2018, as part of the regional project “Strengthening health systems for effective TB and DR-TB control in Eastern Europe and Central Asia” (TB-REP project aimed at reforming the TB care system as part of the general health reforms and provision of technical support for TB projects of civil society organisations (funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria)), the Charitable Organisation “The Ukrainians Against Tuberculosis” and its partner organisations carried out a number of successful implementations of this Concept in a number of Ukraine’s regions.
Now, and that’s quite logical, experts of non-governmental organisations developed and prepared the Concept for interdepartmental and intersectoral support for moving to the human needs-oriented TB treatment model at Ukraine’s national level.
The principal novelty of the Concept is that it, for the first time in the history of the independent Ukrainian state, offers to see dealing with TB and other socially dangerous infectious diseases not as a system of medical measures, but as a complex integrated political, managerial, economic, social, medical, humanitarian, cultural etc. problem that cannot be solved effectively with just medical means and sectoral medical management.
The Concept is addressed to the President of Ukraine, the National Security and Defenсe Council, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, central government bodies, the Head and interested committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ukrainian and international partners, all interested parties.
Public organisations will insistently advocate implementation of the Concept at the national level.
Also, the following materials were presented at the press conference:
1. Progress against TB is “at risk”: WHO. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries improved their figures in the area of TB control, but the WHO believes that this year, due to the coronacrisis, they won’t improve, the fight against TB is under threat.
This is reported at the UN web site. https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/10/1075352
2. A statement by the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine has been published: “TB control in Ukraine is very ineffective. Despite a decrease in TB incidence rate, the epidemic in Ukraine hasn’t been overcome. Dealing with the disease over the last several years has been ineffective.” The Accounting Chamber of Ukraine came to these conclusions based on the results of an audit of the effectiveness of carrying out TB control measures. The person responsible for the audit was
member of the Accounting Chamber Vasyl Nevidomy. The Accounting Chamber notes that without changing the existing approaches to dealing with TB, it’s impossible to achieve the targets of the WHO End TB Strategy for 2016-2035.
The Accounting Chamber of Ukraine: https://rp.gov.ua/PressCenter/News/?id=938
3. The creation of Children’s TB Control Fund was announced.
We’re especially grateful for joint work to our partners from:
– “Stop TB Together” All-Ukrainian Coalition of Organisations;
– “Stronger Than TB” All-Ukrainian Association of People Who Recovered from TB;
– Expert community of Ukraine’s patients.
The Concept and auxiliary materials are attached hereto. Find more at the web site of the CO “The Ukrainians Against Tuberculosis” https://stoptb.org.ua/
Yours sincerely, on behalf of our partner organisations,
Head of the board of the Charitable Organisation “Public Movement “The Ukrainians Against Tuberculosis” Foundation, co-head of “Stop TB Together” Coalition of Organisations
VITALII RUDENKO