Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

According to official statistics, hepatitis C levels in Georgia have hit record levels, with 200,000 people currently infected, which is approximately 6.7 percent of the population, and 2,000 new cases emerge annually.

According to experts, the death rate is also high, as the treatment of the disease is expensive. Moreover, there is no state program for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C. Official figures indicate that only 10 percent of the infected can afford treatment.

Georgian Public Broadcaster reported on July 22 that Georgia has the highest number of people infected with hepatitis C in the South Caucasus region.

According to a report of the joint program officer for the International Harm Reduction Development Program and Access to Essential Medicines Initiative, Azadeh Momenghalibaf, published on July 10, the vast majority of the estimated 185 million people living with hepatitis C worldwide reside in lower- and middle-income countries like Georgia, where there is virtually no access to treatment and no government response.

"Much of this has to do with the fact that hepatitis C is a hidden epidemic: most people don't know they're infected as a result of lack of access to both diagnostics and treatment.

"For two years, Georgian advocates have been raising the profile of hepatitis C in the country through mass events, protests, and campaigns, and have mobilized thousands of patient voices to demand action by their government. Hepatitis C simply became a problem that the government could no longer ignore," Momenghalibaf said in the report.

Momenghalibaf cited the exorbitant price of roughly $18,000 for a 48-week course of Pegylated-Interferon produced and patented by pharmaceutical giants Roche and Merck; the backbone medicine of hepatitis C treatment, which is currently inaccessible for patients who have to pay for it out of their pocket, and unaffordable for the government.

In February, Georgian Health Minister David Sergeenko acknowledged that the government does not have enough money to cover treatment costs for such a large portion of the population, vaccinenewsdaily.com website reported. He said estimates show that 1,000 people need liver transplants, which would have to be done abroad at an extremely high cost.

Sergeenko said that even if the country spent its entire healthcare budget on treating HCV infection it would still not meet its basic needs.

Furthermore, some Georgian doctors claim that current statistics are most likely low because they are based on data from 2004, and that the true number is actually much higher. Georgia receives some international aid for HCV healthcare, but it usually applies only to patients with HIV coinfection.

Nevertheless, Momenghalibaf said that backed by Georgian civil society and patient groups putting pressure on Roche and Merck to reduce their prices, the Georgian government will fiercely negotiate with these companies to reach a price that will ensure their goal of universal coverage can be reached.

According to Momenghalibaf, the price Georgia secures will not only represent a victory for the country, but for the global access to hepatitis C treatment movement, a movement consisting of patients and their advocates fighting to gain access to these lifesaving medicines, and urging governments and pharmaceutical companies to put lives before profit.