Ukraine's Health Ministrt cut down ARV drug price

The Health Ministry of Ukraine managed to cut down the prices of ARV drugs. Some of them may now get cheaper by 90%, (cutting down the cost of ARV therapy to UAH 8,500, about USD 1684) and till the end of 2006, six times more HIV+ people and people affected by AIDS may receive treatment at state cost, EEDI reported reffering to ICTV. 

 

According to Oleksandr Fedko, Head of the Department for Prevention and Fight against Socially Dangerous Diseases, “With the same costs that were used to treat 450 people with HIV/AIDS, that this year we will reach – 2500, in particular, 2556 HIV+ people.” The Ministry leadership recognizes that previous 2 years the ARV drugs were bought at a price 20 times higher. Conducting open tenders was not possible due to an instruction, which contained lists of trade names of drugs and the names of their producers, a clear indication of lobbying in favor of certain companies.

 

The last tenders conducted this year, according to the civil servants, were transparent as the procurement system was reorganized.