Georgian PM: “I am sure Georgia will become one of the first states to eradicate Hepatitis C”
Ninety-eight per cent of people suffering from the Hepatic C in Georgia have been cured. Photo: Prime Minister’s press office.
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Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has stated that he is sure that Georgia will be become one of the first states worldwide which will manage to completely eradicate Hepatitis C.
Bakhtadze made the statement at the World Health Organisation (WHO) regional consultation meeting on Hepatitis C held in Tbilisi today.
Bakhtadze thanked the United States for its “huge support” to dramatically decrease the number of infected people in Georgia over the past three years.
Georgian PM stated that such an event was held for the first time in Europe [by WHO] and Georgia was selected among 53 countries to host it.Photo: Prime Minister's press office.
A survey was conducted in Georgia in 2015 which revealed that about eight per cent of people suffered from Hepatitis C, and a special programme was launched, with the help of the US, to help our citizens defeat the illness,” Bakhtadze.
He stated that 98 per cent of those enrolled in the Hepatitis C elimination programme were able to defeat the illness.
Back in 2015 Georgia signed an agreement with American Gilead Company, which has provided the country with Sofosbuvir and Harvoni, medicines to help Georgians defeat Hepatitis C.
The Georgian Health Ministry stated last year that a new medicine will be introduced to Georgia that will help the remaining two percent also defeat the illness.
Around 45,000 people have gone through medical treatment for Hepatitis C in Georgia since 2015.
Head of the National Disease Control Centre Amiran Gamkrelidze says that 1,300,000 people have been screened in Georgia so far for Hepatitis C.
He says that the Georgian Health Ministry has plans to screen 1,500,000 people in 2019-2020.
For now 45 per cent of the people have been screened for the Hepatitis C in Georgia. We have plans to treat 128,000 people before the end of 2020 and at least 122, 200 should have been cured,” Gamkrelidze said.
Typically the treatment costs €110,000 per person, which is free for Georgian citizens.
In partnership with the American company Gilead, Georgia launched a large-scale Hepatitis C Elimination Program in 2015. The program aims to make Georgia a Hepatitis C-free country by 2020.
The programme to eliminate Hepatitis C is expanding in Georgia. In addition to medical institutions, screening will now also available at Public Service Halls.
Around 45,000 people have gone through medical treatment for Hepatitis C in Georgia, 98 percent of which were cured, the head of Georgia’s National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC) Amiran Gamkrelidze said.
According to three years results of the Hepatitis C elimination programme, 50,000 people are involved in the process currently and treatment rate is 98,2 percent.
Georgia’s Health Ministry has launched a new campaigned titled Cure Yourself in order to encourage the people to be tested on Hepatitis C, as the disease has no symptoms until too late.
Georgian Health Minister David Sergeenko says there is a risk the country’s Hepatitis C elimination programme may come to an end.
The diagnostic tests, which are necessary to enroll in Georgia's Hepatitis C elimination programme, will be available for free. Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze recently said that the diagnostic tests cost about 140–360 GEL.
The prevalence of Hepatitis C has decreased by 67 percent in Georgia compared to previous years, Tamar Gabunia, the Georgian Deputy Health Minister, said on Thursday.