Free Hepatitis C program cures Georgian prisoners of deadly disease

Ninety percent of prisoners undergoing the free Hepatitis C program in Georgian jails have been cured of the disease.

Georgia's Minister of Corrections Kakha Kakhishvili yesterday announced the positive results of the Government-funded initiative that aimed to fully eliminate the virus from Georgian prisons.

Kakhishvili said more than 10,000 inmates were tested for Hepatitis C and those infected got involved in the free treatment program.

The Minister said the recent positive results were extremely important as Hepatitis C was the leading cause of death in Georgian jails until 2013.

"Thanks to the joint efforts of the American and Georgian governments, an expensive medicine, Sofosbuvir, became available at our prisons so the inmates were given the chance to fully become cured of the disease,” the Minister said.

The Hepatitis C elimination program was a Government initiative that has been carried out in Georgian prisons since 2013. The program involved raising awareness of infection prevention, diagnosis and treatment with the world’s best Hepatitis C medicines.