To: Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable

standard of physical and mental health

Date: 25.06.2012, # 74

Urgent Appeal

Dear Mr. Grover,

On behalf of Ukrainian Community Advisory Board, All-Ukrainian Network of

PLWH, Coalition of HIV-service NGOs in Ukraine, International HIV/AIDS Alliance

Ukraine, NGO “Stop Hepatitis” and International Renaissance Foundation we would like to

express our respect for all your efforts put into protection of Human Rights to Health all

over the world. We would also like to draw your attention to the urgent situation with the

violation of the Right to Health in Ukraine and the fact that Ukrainian government has failed

to put health and the lives of Ukrainians first.

The situation in Ukrainian Health Care sector is really disturbing – three epidemics

are evolving in Ukraine burdening each other: HIV, TB and hepatitis.

Ukraine is facing Europe's and Central Asia's worst HIV epidemic. Оnly one out of

five Ukrainians in need of HIV medication is provided for. Very expensive second-line TB

medications to treat multidrug resistant TB (the most prevalent in Ukraine), procured at the

expense of Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, cover only 20% of real need. This

type of TB drugs and hepatitis drugs are not procured at the expense of state funds in

Ukraine.

4 millions 184 thousands of Ukrainians (or 9.5% of the population) are infected

with these diseases. There are new 58 HIV cases every day, 12 000 persons die of TB every

year, 3 500 000 Ukrainians are infected with hepatitis. These epidemics took the lives of

369 780 Ukrainians during the last 20 years.

Every day we receive numerous letters from patients that desperately ask for help

and protection of their rights. For example, we received a letter from Uriy Palienko with

hepatitis C from Dnepropetrovsk. He was infected 15 years ago and during all these years he

didn’t receive any treatment from the state. He claims that he has no possibility to buy very

expensive drugs and the only way out for him is to sell his apartment. He is 36 years old and

has a family. He asks us, what are his chances to get cured, because it is a very difficult

choice for him to leave his children without a house.

Here is also the story of Chizhevskiy Alexander – 38 years old man, who died from

TB in 2011. He was diagnosed TB in 2010 and spend 8 month in the hospital. He had

multidrug resistant TB, but because of improper diagnostics this multidrug resistant form

wasn’t diagnosed at the beginning of the treatment and actually 6 months of 8 month of

treatment were lost. If he was properly diagnosed, received all the necessary treatment and

had proper conditions and nutrition in the hospital, he had a chance to get cured. His

mother wrote to us: “Once my son had a cold and was diagnosed a pneumonia. But then he

was diagnosed TB on the basis of bacteriological culture. Mostyshche TB hospital near Kiev,

where Alexander was directed, has reputation of a death place. There were no hot water, no

blankets and pillows, no TB treatment and $0,3 per day for food. One doctor came to him

once in a week. I sold one room of my apartment to buy the most necessary for life in the

hospital. But after 8 months my son died… “

UCAB tries to protect the right of these people and undertakes its activity in strong

partnership with charity funds and NGOs “All-Ukrainian Network of PLWH”, “Stop

hepatitis”, International AIDS Alliance in Ukraine and Charitable Fund “Development of

Ukraine”. These are the patient organizations that do their best to build a dialogue with

Ukrainian officials to convince them to pay more attention to health matters. Unfortunately

situation remains extremely grave and worrisome. The rule of law remains only a remote

dream for Ukrainian citizen. Constitution and other laws are systematically violated in

Ukraine.

Article 49 of Ukrainian Constitution stipulates that “every citizen of Ukraine has a

right to health care and medical help”. In Basics of legislation on health protection, Article 4

stipulates that health issues get the first priority in Ukraine and Article 14 mentions that

President of Ukraine bears the personal responsibility for the implementation of health care

policy in Ukraine. Moreover, Article 53 stipulates that HIV and TB are socially dangerous

diseases in Ukraine and need specific measures of prophylactics and treatment.

Taking into consideration all the facts mentioned below, we kindly ask You a as the

UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health to address the President of Ukraine and urge

Mr. Yanukovich and the Ukrainian government to pay more attention to the rights of

Ukrainians on health and allocate costs from the State Budget 2013 that will satisfy

treatment needs of patients who live with HIV, TB and hepatitis, equaling UAH 1 billion –

UAH 304 million for hepatitis, UAH 399 million for HIV and UAH 297 million for TB. We

will be grateful for Your decision to influence this situation and appreciate much all your

support provided for all people who require especial attention to their health issues.

With warmest wishes,

The Head of Ukrainian Community Advisory Board

Deputy Head of Coordination Council of All-Ukrainian Network of PLWH

Dmytro Sherembey

Coalition of ALL-Ukrainian Charity Foundation «Coalition of HIV – service NGOs» Natalya Pidlisna

Executive Director of International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine

Andrey Klepikov

Director of the Programme «Public health» of International Renaissance Foundation

Viktoria Tymoshevska

Head of NGO “Stop Hepatitis”

Olga Gavrilova