Medicines for treating children with hepatitis C have arrived in Ukraine: who will receive treatment

According to the Ministry of Health, medicines for the treatment of children with hepatitis C have arrived in Ukraine. They were delivered from Italy as humanitarian aid. This became possible thanks to the cooperation between the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Center for Public Health, and the NGO 'Friends of the Community of St. Egidio'.

A total of 10 courses of the drug sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (Epclusa) and 1 course of the drug sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (Harvoni) have been delivered. The cost of the medicines exceeds 58.7 million hryvnias. Some of the medicines have already been handed over to healthcare facilities for the immediate treatment of children.

The received batch of medicines will provide access to treatment for 8 children under 12 years old (which accounts for a third of all cases of hepatitis C among children under 12 years old in Ukraine), as well as one older child with complications and comorbidities such as cirrhosis, co-infection with HIV/HCV, or renal failure,' the Ministry of Health reported.

Hepatitis C in children is most often transmitted from an infected mother at birth and through medical procedures involving contact with blood. The disease is especially difficult to treat in the late stages when irreversible changes in the liver have already occurred.

If hepatitis C is detected in children, they require immediate treatment and constant medical monitoring to avoid severe complications such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.

The amount of medicines supplied for treating children with hepatitis C represents a significant step in ensuring access for young patients to necessary treatment in Ukraine. Such an initiative promotes improved medical care and the health of children facing this serious disease.