PM about hepatitis C elimination program: This is a common national project and a common national success
The society and the government need to be mobilized much better in order to achieve the elimination of hepatitis C by 2020, since there are thousands of infected people, who have not undergone screening until now,- Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze said at a news conference dedicated to Hepatitis C.
The Prime Minister calls on the citizens to undergo screening.
“July 28 is the day, when the world is uniting for the common purpose : raising awareness about the actual burden of viral hepatitis. This is the biggest challenge of the 21 st century.
As you know, there is an effective vaccine against hepatitis B and it has been introduced in Georgia too, but the fight against hepatitis C still remains a very serious challenge for all countries. But Georgia is a unique country, since we are the only country where we have the C program of hepatitis C and it has the status of the national project,” the Prime Minister said.
According to him, it’s important to increase the number of screenings.
“Until now, a total of 1.5 million people have undergone screening for hepatitis C, more than 58 000 people were involved in the treatment program and up to 54 000 patients have successfully completed treatment,” PM Bakhtadze said.
He said that this is a huge success, which is observed by Georgia’s partners – other countries who face the same painful challenge.
"These words that I have told you, I have heard personally from different leaders of the world, but the society and the government need to be mobilized much better in order to achieve the elimination of the Hepatitis C by 2020, since there are thousands of infected people, who have not undergone screening until now. I am convinced that the steps that are planned to be taken in the future will enable us to achieve the ultimate goal and to achieve the elimination of hepatitis C by 2020 in Georgia. I would like to take a chance to call on every citizen of Georgia – my friends, do not postpone to undergo screening,” PM Bakhtadze said and expressed gratitude to all those people, who were involved in this project. He thanked Georgia’s strategic partner – the US for its support in the hepatitis C elimination program.
“With the support of the United States we managed to implement this very important project. Special thanks to the pharmaceutical company "Gilead", which directly participates in the hepatitis C elimination program in Georgia.
I would like to thank all the people who are involved in the successful implementation of this program. This is a common national project and a common national success ,"- stated Mamuka Bakhtadze.
