We are talking about medicines for chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, depressive states and for the health of the mother and child during pregnancy.

The government program “Affordable Medicines” has been in effect since April 2017. Millions of Ukrainians across the country have already taken advantage of the program and received vital medicines for cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes and bronchial asthma for free or with a small co-payment.

The program has proven to be quite successful: depending on the region, “Affordable Medicines” receives from 100 to 200,000 patients every month at more than 6,600 pharmacies. In the fall, demand for the program continues to grow: every month, patients use 150,000 more prescriptions. This year’s budget provides 700 million hryvnias for the implementation of the program, next year this figure should increase to 1 billion hryvnias.

Taking into account the expansion of funding next year, the Ministry of Health plans to add 3 more nosologies to the government program “Affordable Medicines”. This is stated in the draft resolution of the CMU ” On Amendments to Certain Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “.

By decision of the Ministry, on the recommendation of national and international experts, it is planned to add 9 INNs to the program to provide patients with 3 new nosologies: for the treatment of ulcers and chronic gastroenterological pathologies, depressive states and anemia of pregnant women in the first trimester. According to preliminary calculations by specialists, the inclusion of these diseases will cost the budget about UAH 300 million.

Also, the draft resolution provides for the addition of one more active substance each for patients with cardiovascular diseases and type II diabetes – “Losartan” and “Glibenclamide”.

“Affordable medicines” is the beginning of radical changes in providing citizens with free access to effective and safe vital medicines. In the future, we plan to ensure that every patient is 100% provided with medicines for the most common diseases. Starting from the new year, we are adding 3 more groups of diseases to the state reimbursement program for the cost of medicinal products. The key criteria for their inclusion are the burden of the disease, the dynamics of the disease, the spread and the effectiveness of treatment at the ambulatory link,”  said Deputy Minister Roman Ilyk.

For reference : According to the Center for Medical Statistics of the Ministry of Health, every sixth Ukrainian suffers from diseases of the digestive organs. In 2016, more than 850,000 citizens had a stomach or duodenal ulcer.

According to the results of a study by experts of the International Medical Corps, 4 of the 10 main causes of disability in the world are caused by mental health disorders. By 2030, depression will be the third most common disease in low-income countries and the second in middle-income countries. Instead, every hryvnia invested in the treatment of common mental disorders in Ukraine will bring twice as much for the restoration of human productivity.

Anemia during pregnancy is, first of all, a risk for the healthy development of the child. An insufficient amount of erythrocytes and iron in a woman’s body can cause premature birth, premature birth, premature detachment of the placenta, postpartum hemorrhage, etc. Data from the Center for Medical Statistics of the Ministry of Health indicate that every fourth pregnant woman suffers from anemia. In 2016, more than 98,000 expectant mothers were diagnosed with this pathology.

According to the materials of moz.gov.ua