PM: 20,000 patients will get free Hepatitis C treatment in 2016
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Twenty thousand people suffering from Hepatitis C in Georgia will receive free treatment this year and potentially enjoy 100 percent recovery thanks to an offer from American pharmaceutical firm Gilead to provide a new medicine to Georgia for free.
Today Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili addressed patients taking part in the country’s Hepatitis C Elimination Program to tell them about the next stage of the package.
Since the program launched in April 2015, more than 7,000 people suffering from Hepatitis C received free treatment and 3,000 had completed their course of treatment, said Kvirikashvili.
Ninety percent of the 3,000 were totally cured,” the PM stressed.
Georgia has one of the highest estimated virus prevalence rates in the world, affecting 6.7 percent of the population. But through the public-private partnership between the US and Georgian Governments, along with Gilead, Georgia was on its way to making history and completely eliminate Hepatitis C from the country.
Today the Prime Minister met Hepatitis C patients involved in the Hepatitis C Elimination Program. Photo by the Prime Minister’s webpage.
Kvirikashvili thanked Georgia’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs, doctors, Gilead and the United States (US) Embassy to Georgia for their assistance to eliminate the virus in Georgia. The Prime Minister also thanked the patients involved in the special program and sharing their experiences with new patients.
Harvoni, the new Hepatitis C medicine, has already been imported to Georgia. Gilead gave the medicine to Georgia free of charge following a memorandum signed between the company and Georgia’s Health Ministry.
Typically Harvoni cost €110,000 per person for one course of treatment.
During the first stage of the Hepatitis C Elimination Program in 2015 Georgia used Gilead’s medicine Sofosbuvir, also free of charge.
Harvoni is a new Hepatitis C medication combining Sofosbuvir and Ledipasvir, providing nearly a 100 percent cure, said Georgia’s Health Minister Davit Sergeenko.
The Hepatitis C virus infected an estimated 130–150 million people globally and resulted in an estimated 700,000 deaths annually.
Georgia’s Minister of Health, Labour and Social Affairs Davit Sergeenko says the treatment of Hepatitis C will continue in Georgia until the virus has been eliminated from the country and all sufferers are cured.
In about five years from now, Georgia will be a Hepatitis C-free country thanks to a unique treatment program which was introduced today.
Georgia is preparing to sign a trilateral agreement that will allow a new medicine to be introduced to the market, which aimed to completely eradicate the infectious disease in Georgia.
Georgia’s President and the first lady have joined the country's new campaign to intensify the fight against Hepatitis C.
Georgia is stepping up its fight against the infectious disease hepatitis C with new medicine soon to enter the local market.
More than 25 people from Georgia’s two Russian-occupied regions have asked for and received Georgian passports so they can benefit from the free Hepatitis C treatment program Georgia offers its citizens.
A senior official from the World Health Organisation (WHO) is praising Georgia for the reforms the country has implemented in recent years.
Unique treatment program cures 92% of patients
Today the world is marking World Hepatitis Day and in Georgia the health sector is sharing positive results of its fight against the disease.
The Government of Georgia claims Hepatitis C will be virtually eliminated by 2020 thanks to the revolutionary treatment program that is treating and curing infected people in Georgia.
Georgia’s Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs, David Sergeenko says all people infected with Hepatitis C can receive free treatment.
US Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly said his country will continue supporting Georgia with its Hepatitis C elimination program.
A new modern centre for Hepatitis C management has opened in the town of Zugdidi in Georgia’s western Samegrelo region today.
With the help of the United States, Georgia will bring in new medicine which is likely to completely defeat Hepatitis C in Georgia by 2020.
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.