The TB epidemic takes lives of thousands of people every day in Ukraine. The health care system, unfortunately, cannot handle this nation wide problem.

We have to unite all the efforts and possibilities of the society. We have started the fight. We are communicating how serious the problem is. We hope for participation of all the partners.

The project is implemented in three key areas:

• Creation and implementation of mechanisms aimed to combat TB epidemic in Ukraine – national special projects.

• Development and implementation of the efficient TB combating system for a particular region – regional program.

• Raising awareness of the population— information campaign.

Project goal:

To help the society and the heath care system review the attitude towards TB epidemic in Ukraine and create effective mechanisms of TB combating; to remind to the country’s citizens on the necessity to take care of their health. The project was started in 2007. According to the strategy the project will be completed in May 2012.

National special projects:

 

News   Files   Photos   Contacts: T. Bilyk, V. Bondar, K. Garnick 

PROJECT: Ukrainian Center for Medical, Psychological, and Social Rehabilitation of Children with TB

The project was launched in October, 2007.
Project realization timeline – 2007-2011
Major project partners:
• Ministry of Public Health of Ukraine
• Moskva Children TB Center in Simeiz Town
• Yanovskiy Phthisiology and Pulmonology Institute

Project mission: to provide help to children with TB through creation of rehabilitation centers in Ukraine.

 

Project goals:
- To create Ukraine’s first Center for Medical, Psychological, and Social Rehabilitation of Children with TB.
- To ensure high-quality rehabilitation of 1440 children with TB from all regions of Ukraine.

Project profile:
The Foundation for Development of Ukraine in tandem with the Ministry of Public Health of Ukraine held a tender for “Creation of National Anti-tuberculosis Health Improvement Center for Psychological and Social Rehabilitation of Children Treated against TB in 2007.
Moskva Children Health Improvement Center in Simeiz Town was called winner of the tender.
Agreements on cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health and Moskva Center will be signed soon to establish Ukrainian Center for Medical, Psychological, and Social Rehabilitation of Children with TB.

 

The project provides for:
- Repairing of center facilities.
- Installing new medical equipment.
- Buying computers for education of children.
- Buying new furniture.
- Developing and introducing new methods of rehabilitation of children with TB.
- Teaching new rehabilitation methods to center employees.

 

PROJECT: Monitoring TB Medicines Quality

 

The project was launched in December 2007.
Project realization timeline: 2007-2011.
Major project partners:
• Ministry of Public Health of Ukraine
• Committee for Fight Against HIV/AIDS and TB
• State Service of Drugs and Medical Products
• State Agency for Medicine Quality Control
• Network of PLWH
• WHO

 

Project mission: To examine quality of medicines used for TB treatment in Ukraine.

Project goals:
- To receive information about quality of medicines used for TB treatment in Ukraine before 2008.
- To use the information about TB medicines to create conditions required to ensure high-quality medicines for people with TB.

 

PROJECT: Supporting Scientific and Applied Researches. Holding Scientific, Practical and Socially Important Conferences

The project was launched in October, 2007.
Project realization timeline: 2007-2011
Major project partners:
• Yanovskiy Phthisiology and Pulmonology Institute
• Ministry of Public Health of Ukraine
• Scientific organizations

 

Project mission: Supporting scientific community of the country to create and introduce effective methods for TB prevention, diagnostics, and treatment.

 
Project goals:
- To support scientific initiatives in the area of TB that target to improve the quality of TB diagnostics, treatment, and prevention.
- To mobilize expert community to battle TB.

Profile of the project "Encouraging Scientific and Social Applied Researches".

Winning projects:
1. Project developed by Yanovskiy Phthisiology and Pulmonology Institute.
Project will be launched in October 2008.
Project title: Studying reasons of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) TB development and its prevalence among patients with newly diagnosed and recurrent lung TB as well as developing effective treatment schedules.
Project goal:
To improve effectiveness of chemotherapy on HIV negative and positive people with MDR lung TB by developing the best combinations and proportions of TB drugs in chemotherapy regimen, and fix duration of intensive and supportive chemotherapy phases for this patient category.

2. Project developed by Lvov Research and Development Institute of Epidemiology and Hygiene of the Ministry of Public Health of Ukraine.
Project title: Optimizing Epidemiology Supervision over TB Infection in Penitentiary Facilities
The project will be launched in January 2009.
Project goal: To develop differentiated anti-epidemic activities to optimize epidemiology control in penitentiary facilities.

3. Project developed by Kharkov Medical Academy of Post-Graduate Education.
The project will be launched in October 2008.
Project title: Bacteriological Properties of Different TB Infection Manifestations in Children
Project goal: To improve effectiveness of bacteriological TB diagnostics in children through PCR detection of DNA of MBT and MBT antibodies level.

The above projects will be launched once agreements with tender winners are signed. Projects progress will be controlled through analysis of performance reports for every six months. Reports will be analyzed by an expert committee whose members will be approved later.

 

Profile of project Holding Scientific, Practical and Socially Important Conferences: The Foundation for Development of Ukraine and Coalition of HIV-Service Organizations held the second Ukrainian conference on national response to TB epidemic titled Ten TB Challenges and Ways to Overcome Them on 13-14 November, 2007.
The conference was attended by officials of the parliament and appropriate ministries, regional TB agencies, medical facilities, international and partnership organizations, NGOs, as well as leading scientists and experts. All in all, the event hosted around 270 delegates from all Ukrainian regions and other countries.
A resolution was published following the conference. The document was sent to appropriate ministries, departments, and NGO partners for consideration and decision making regarding TB problem in Ukraine.

PROJECT: Improving TB

The project was launched in October 2007.
Project realization timeline: 2007-2009.

Major project partners:
• Ministry of Public Health of Ukraine
• Committee for Fight Against HIV/AIDS and TB
• Regional TB doctors
• MPs
• NGOs and international organizations working in TB area

 

Project mission: to introduce changes in regulatory framework of Ukraine required amid TB epidemic.

 

Project goals:
- To develop amendments of TB legal framework
- To ensure adoption of amendments to create conditions and mechanisms for TB doctors to provide high-quality diagnostics and treatment.

Under the project the Foundation has initiated creation of an interagency task group to develop projects and improve regulatory framework in the area of fighting TB epidemic (Text of Order of the Ministry of Public Health).

The list of TB-related legal acts subjected to expected amendments by the interagency group has been fixed (List of documents).

Drafts of TB law amendments initiated by the Foundation will be published on its website and mailed to all interested parties for their suggestions and advice.

 

Drafts of documents:
Text of the new law draft 

Regional program:

A five-year regional program "Fighting TB Epidemic in Donetsk Region in 2007 - 2011" (hereinafter - Program) was launched within the framework of the national project Stop TB on 31 May, 2007. The program was initiated by the Foundation for Development of Ukraine, Donetsk Region Council and Donetsk Regional State Administration.

Goal: to reduce TB morbidity and mortality in Donetsk region.

Objectives:
- creating a system to manage, monitor, and assess results of the program in Donetsk region;
- improving the quality (efficiency) of TB detection and prevention of TB spread in the region;
- improving the quality (efficiency) of diagnostics and treatment of TB and improving their availability;
- introducing the system of measures that target to stop HIV-associated and drug-resistant TB from spreading as well as improve diagnostics and treatment of these TB forms. 

Expected results:
- reduction of TB morbidity by 5% annually;
- reduction of TB mortality by 5% until 2011.

Realization timeline - 2007 to 2011.

Funding: The regional program is being funded by the Foundation for Development of Ukraine (approx. UAH 50m), the regional budget (approx. UAH 50m) and local budgets of Donetsk region (approx. UAH 17m).

Information campaign:

The Foundation has allocated significant funds to increase the awareness of population as diagnostics and preventive measures mean also active participation of the populations. Almost all available information sources were used. Many national TV channels and radios broadcasted the social advertising and it could also be seen on billboards and external advertising carriers in all major cities of Ukraine Since the project start-up the hot line (telephone 8-800-503-0-800) has been set up to provide fast and competent answers to all the questions connected with TB. Daily the operators deal with at least 10 inquiries. The calls come from all over Ukraine and citizens of all Oblasts apply for help and consultations. Many periodical editions and some journalists joined the information campaign. To increase the level of awareness the Foundation held seminars-trainings and journalistic publication contests. Overall 212 publications from 56 editions participated in the contest. In October 2007 39 journalists from different parts of Ukraine attended the seminar held on the contest results in Yalta. The information campaign also included different voluntary actions and visits to penitentiary institutions. Usual Ukrainians did not stand aside in a fight against the problem. The campaign was launched to collect funds and donations. Overall, UAH 70,000 was collected in 5 Oblasts of Ukraine for social needs of anti-TB institutions. The volume of investments allocated for project implementation in 2007 amounted to UAH 5,370,851.52.

Igor Pokanevich — Director of the WHO Office in Ukraine.
“The project goal is quite ambitions. However, it can be attained considering the approaches and work organization of the Foundation. The model formed within the framework of the project can serve as a model of TB combating system to be implemented all over Ukraine. In one year alone we have received impressive results in terms of decrease in mortality and sickness rates. Due to consistent efforts in this area we can expect continuing improvement with TB situation in Donetsk Oblast within the next several years. The resources invested by the Foundation into the project give an opportunity to remove the gap between general volume of available resources and the resource required for efficient combat against TB”.

 

Svetlana Cherenko — Doctor of Medical Science, Deputy Head of Phthisiology Department of National Institute of Phthisiology and pulmonology named after F.G. Yanovskiy.
“I believe that the Foundation’s efforts aimed at TB combating are very important for Ukraine as this is the only non-governmental organization, which can provide financial and technical support when carrying out the actions specified by the General State Program on TB combating. The most important component is the project on improvement of TB legal base as this is the first step the country should take to overcome TB epidemic in Ukraine. It is also important to support applied TB scientific research studies as it is widely known that there is not enough state financing for medical scientific projects. It is impossible to assess the efficiency of the takes measures on TB diagnostics and treatment and it is impossible to develop new methodologies without scientific research studies.”

 

Olga Bilogortseva — Doctor of Medical Science, Senior Research Fellow of the National Institute of Phthisiology and pulmonology named after F.G. Yanovskiy, Chief Freelance Specialist of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine, speciality “Children’s Phthisiology”.

I believe that all areas of activity of the Foundation are important, perspective and vital. As a children’s phthisiatrician I would like to note that the Foundation has selected a very important area in healthcare – combating TB in Ukraine. The Foundation is the first Ukrainian non-governmental organization, which started paying attention to important medical projects aimed at improving TB children assistance system. First of all I am talking about creation of the Center of TB Children Medical Psychological and Social Rehabilitation as well as about support of up-to-date technologies for detecting TB children. Fruitful cooperation of the Foundation with leading anti-TB companies allows to make weighted decisions on the most important areas of activity and implement the results of work into healthcare system. The activity of the Foundation is fully supported by the medical community and scientific employees of the country”.