’Tuberculosis prevention and control in Kyiv City, Ukraine’.

April 19, 2005.

    *** Results of EU-funded project presented in final project conference
    A conference on tuberculosis control with participation of international experts will take place in Kyiv on Wednesday 20 April, 2005. The conference marks the conclusion of the EU-funded project ’Tuberculosis prevention and control in Kyiv City, Ukraine’. This project was successfully implemented over a two and a half year period. In the framework of the project a new tuberculosis control strategy has been developed, trainings and research have onducted, an information campaign has been developed and implemented and laboratory equipment, laboratory supplies, computers and a minivan have been purchased. The total value of the project was ? 2,000,000.00 (two million Euro).
    The number of tuberculosis patients diagnosed every year in Ukraine has more than doubled since independence. Although tuberculosis is a curable disease there has also been a big increase in the number of people dying from it. This situation calls for a new approach.
    Under the new strategy, tuberculosis control activities have been decentralized. Polyclinics play an important role in finding and treating cases of tuberculosis. Being diagnosed with tuberculosis no longer means having to spend up to a year in hospital. In Kyiv tuberculosis patients receive most of their treatment as out patients in polyclinics or Red Cross medical facilities. Diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis are free of charge. Anti tuberculosis drugs are available in sufficient quantities for all patients diagnosed. What the public needs to know is: ’If you cough for more than 2-3 weeks, go to your polyclinic!’
    The first positive results of the new strategy are already apparent. From 2003 to 2004 the yearly number of tuberculosis patients found in Kyiv has increased by 34%, but at the same time the total number of patients dying from the disease has decreased by 24%. For the first 1-2 years a further increase in patients diagnosed with tuberculosis is expected, as the system to find such patients has improved. After that, we expect a decrease, just as this has been observed in central European countries.
    The conference will take place on Wednesday 20 April, in ‘House of Trade Union’, Maidan Nezhelesnosti 2, Kyiv. Journalists are invited to the opening ceremony which will start at 9.30 am.