To increase the likeliness of observing the therapy regimen by intense support in 2012-2014, the specialists of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society provided social support to TB patients with high risk of treatment interruption to 17,117 patients. According to the cohort analysis, treatment efficacy in these patients was 27% higher than average in the country.
In 2015 – 2017, the program “Investments for influence on tuberculosis epidemics and HIV-infection” will be implemented in Ukraine at the cost of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. One of the main targets of the program is the implementation of the area “Medical and social support and establishment of people’s likeliness to observe the therapy for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis”, which will improve access to high-quality medical services for patients with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Ukraine. In the regions, the program will be implemented by the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (hereinafter – the URCS).
The program stipulates a systematic coverage by treatment of patients with MDR-TB at the outpatient stage through the URCS workers and delivery of food packages to them twice a month, according to the determined enrollment criteria within the framework of regional quotas.
Support coverage of MDR-TB patients was done in 17 regions of Ukraine (Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhlytomyr, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Mykolayiv, Lviv, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Cherkasy, and Chernihiv regions, and Kyiv City). As of 01.02.2015, 729 MDR-TB patients received medical and social support from the regional organizations of the URCS, which amounts to 90.2% of the quota determined for 2 months of 2015.
Taking into account the efficiency of medical and social support of TB patients from risk groups, it is necessary to ensure continuity of provision of this service at the state level after the implementation of the Global Fund grant.
In 2015 – 2017, Ukraine should implement the project “Investments for influence on tuberculosis epidemics and HIV-infection” (hereinafter - the Program) at the cost of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (hereinafter – the GF). One of the main targets of the Program is actualization of the aspect “Social support at the stage of outpatient treatment of tuberculosis” and “Social support of HIV-positive persons treatment with HIV/TB co-infection”, which should improve access to high-quality medical services for patients with tuberculosis of 1st-3rd categories in Ukraine by the All-Ukrainian Charity Organization “Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV” (hereinafter – the UCO “Ukrainian Network of PLWH”).
The information as of 01.10.2015 is added.
One of the main targets of the program is the actualization of the aspect “Medical and social support and establishment of people’s likeliness to observe the therapy for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis”, which will improve access to high-quality medical services for patients with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Ukraine. In the regions, the program will be implemented by the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (hereinafter – the URCS).
The program stipulates a systematic coverage by treatment of patients with MDR-TB at the outpatient stage through the URCS workers and delivery of food packages to them twice a month, according to the determined enrollment criteria within the framework of regional quotas.
According to the current data of the phthisiological service, over the 9 months of the current year (01.01.2015 - 30.09.2015), medical and social support of the URCS at the cost of the GF was provided to 1,899 out of 4,880 patients (42.4%) who take antituberculosis drugs at the cost of the GF. The indicator of coverage by medical and social support by the URCS of patients with MDR-TB reaches 38.9% of the quota determined for 2015. Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Zakarpattia, Mykolayiv, and Khmelnytskyi regions ensured proper coverage by medical and social support with the help of the URCS.
Information as of 01.10.2015 is added.
Lack of the proper medical and social support of MDR-TB patients is one of the important reasons of low treatment efficiency, for it does not shape the patients’ motivation to resort to treatment with social support of the URCS.
Medical and sanitary support project for 2014