Some Ukrainian international non-governmental organisations like “Alliance against AID”, “Life plus” declared these about the
threat to stop medical treatment for people, living with AID/HIV until
2008. So these people will be dying during period since this year to
2008. It was happened because the World Bank has broken
off financial credit on 60 millions dollars , offered for treatment of
Ukrainian people, living with AID/HIV. The World Bank administration
did it , having accused Ukrainian Ministry of Public Health in corruption buying of medicine for people , living with AID/HIV.
There are some official data on
situation with HIV/AIDS in our country. According to it, 1.000 HIV-
infected people are revealed monthly through specialized medical
centres in Ukraine. 49 Ukrainians are being infected with HIV every day, 8 Ukrainians go off with AIDS diagnosis daily.
88.378 HIV- positive people, including 10.978 children, were registered on the 1st January 2006. 13. 108 people got terminal stage of HIV infection - AIDS. 7. 537 people died.
Optimistic
math model, elaborated by Ukrainian and British scientists / British
Council/ DFID / supposes, 600.000 Ukrainians could be infected with
HIV/AIDS by 2010. Pessimistic model predicts that 1, 4 millions
Ukrainians‘ll be living with HIV/AIDS by that time.
Some international experts almost compared this threatening situation in Ukraine with African HIV/AIDS pandemic. Director Representatives of USAID in Ukraine, Moldova
and Byelorussia Erl Gust declared before World Day against AIDS that
Ukrainian government did not work with this challenge. Allegedly,
epidemic could destroy not only social structure of society, but also
economics. It has already happened in Africa.
Chief
of representatives UNICEF on Ukraine Jeremy Hartly said that all United
Nations organisations are going to increase a financial support of
programs against HIV/AIDS.
Ukrainian Ministry of Public Health chose the similar tactics. Therefore, Minister Yuriy Polyachenko declared on the 1st
of December last year that Ukrainian government would finance the
programs against HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis on 10 percents more and
create new governmental structure for coordination of non-governmental
and state organisations, fighting against HIV/AIDS.
There are some
unclear spots in it. Firstly, proposed structure is unexplained step of
our government, trying to arrange new governmental organs, allegedly necessary for coordination of possibilities of all organisations, involved in national fight against HIV/AIDS.
Nevertheless,
such kind of structure has already created recently. It is National
Coordination Council by prevention of spreading HIV/ AIDS, approved by
Cabinet of Ministers / Decree ¹352; 16 May 2005/.National Coordination
Council has six Committees, responsible for very noble and important
tasks like regional politics, protection of rights of people living
with HIV/AIDS, treatment, monitoring and strategic planning,
evaluation, so on.
Deputies
in Ministers, representatives of public national and international
organisations consist of this Council. Secretariat included 9 people,
working constantly and having financial support from USAID.
Is
it not enough for governmental coordination? By the way, every
Committee holds monthly meetings. There are regional coordination
councils, repeating the work of National Coordination Council on the
regional level.
Where
is necessity for additional structure with the same functions from?
Besides them, there are some other national programs offered for fight
against HIV/AIDS, for example, the National Program by fight against HIV/AIDS on 2004-2008, the Special Commission of Verhovnaya Rada on problems with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and drugs using, others.
Secondly, do ten percents, mentioned by minister Polyachenko, influence the threatening situation with HIV/AIDS in Ukraine? It is not likely.
12 millions
dollars were done for treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS last
year by Ukrainian government and international donors. Ukrainian
government’s part is less than 4 millions dollars in this account. At
the same time, to evaluation of Transatlantic Partners against AIDS
/TPAA/ , 52 millions dollars are necessary annually for ARV –therapy of all Ukrainians, needed in it. / PS: ARV –therapy is special medicine treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS/.
By the way, expenses for treatment of one HIV-positive person , treated in Ukrainian Ministry of public health’ s system in 2004, costed 6.322 dollars. The similar treatment, led by non-governmental organisation “Doctors without borders “for the same period, costed 522 dollars. Is it significant enough difference?
Explanation
of such discrepancy is very simple. Leader of public centre
“All-Ukrainian network people living with HIV/AIDS Bogdan Zaika said
that Ukrainian Ministry of public health has paid much more money,
having bought medicine for ARV- therapy, than international
organisations did. For example, medicine “nevirapin” was expensive in 27, 95 times; another medicine “lamivudin” was expensive in 24, 75 times…
Situation
with prices on medicine is changed, minister Polyachneko promised.
Because state medicine’ buying will be regulated legally. Polyachenko
hopes that it causes new proposals from medicine purveyors.
Why could “Doctors without borders” find purveyors with cheap prices for medicine?
May be, non-governmental organisations are more experienced and professional than governmental officials, aren’t they?
Probably
, NGOs should have created Coordination councils for fight with
HIV/AIDS on the national and regional levels. They could control the
finances, granted by USAID, United Nations, Global fund against AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria, other international donors, on all programs,
including government’, relevant to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in
Ukraine.
Otherwise, new governmental organs, issued in a great numbers for very hot problem like HIV/AIDS, don’t make image our country
the better on the global market , and, that it’s more important, don’t
improve threatening situation with HIV/AIDS in Ukraine.
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