SCM’s Foundation for Development of Ukraine has announced the launch of a national project "Stop tuberculosis". The project’s objective is to stop tuberculosis epidemic in Ukraine. The Foundation also presented Memorandum "Ukraine without tuberculosis", which is an integral part of the project and which enables all the parties concerned to join the project.

"We shall ask ourselves what we shall do to stop tuberculosis. In the first place we should recognize that this is a national disaster. Second, we should unite our efforts. And the third and the most important thing is to effectively manage the TB fighting process. Following all that I am convinced we will not be just fighting tuberculosis we will conquer it"- said Rinat Akhmetov, the President of the Foundation for Development of Ukraine.

 The project is a 5-year program and it consists of three main areas of activity:
• Special projects aimed at improving the legal base, creating educational center for phthisiatricians of Ukraine, renewing All Ukrainian anti-tuberculosis sanatorium for children, supporting scientific and social researches and holding scientific and practical conferences.
• All Ukrainian information campaign popularizing healthy life style and change of attitude towards tuberculosis including creation of "hot line", consultation center, etc. 
• Regional programs on creation and implementation of the effective TB fighting system.
The project is to join the efforts of all the stakeholders to settle the problem. Representatives of state authorities, international and Ukrainian public organizations and business have joined the Project by having signed the Memorandum "Ukraine without tuberculosis". The first to sign the Memorandum was the President of the Foundation for Development of Ukraine Rinat Akhmetov. The amount, which the Foundation will spend to implement the Project within 5 years, will constitute UAH 100,000,000.
 
The regional program on fighting tuberculosis has become the first step in implementation of the national project, the program to be implemented within the period from 2007 till 2011 in Donetskaya Oblast. This program will be carried out in cooperation with the Donetsk Oblast Council, Donetsk Oblast State Administration and Foundation for Development of Ukraine.
 
Anatoliy Zabolotnyy, the Director of the Foundation for Development of Ukraine: "We are convinced that implementation of the project in Donetskaya Oblast will become an example proving efficiency of the program approach and modern project management methods. This experience will be used in other regions of Ukraine. The memorandum, which we have signed today, enables all the Oblasts of Ukraine to join the Project. W call upon all the representatives of legislative and executive authorities, business and public communities to participate in implementation of the national project and to make their contribution into the victory over TB in Ukraine. 
 
The leading world and Ukrainian specialists, in particular representatives of the World Health Organization, are involved into implementation of the regional program.