Patients with hepatitis C in Uzbekistan can now access treatment either for free or at a reduced price, following a successful pilot programme in the capital city, Tashkent.
Using many of the lessons learned, the Government has scaled up viral hepatitis response to the national level, and passed a presidential decree offering free or subsidized treatment to all those infected with chronic hepatitis C.
Hepatitis B and C infections are highly prevalent in Uzbekistan and are a priority of the Ministry of Health’s agenda. In 2016, an estimated 2.5 million people were living with hepatitis B and 1.3 million with hepatitis C in the country.
The year-long pilot project allowed family doctors and nurses to test for and treat hepatitis C at the primary health-care level and encouraged people to go for testing. In total, 62 000 people were screened for chronic hepatitis. Then, in 2021 free testing was offered to a further 500 000 people in 7 regions of the country. Between 2022 and 2025, an expected 2 million people in the country will be screened for viral hepatitis B and C.
The project was carried out by the Center for Disease Analysis Foundation in partnership with the Research Institute of Virology and the Ministry of Health.
Easy access to treatment
Qurbonova Maryam is a 34-year-old mother of 3 who lives in Tashkent. She learned she had hepatitis C upon getting tested at the Research Institute of Virology, after she first noticed symptoms.
“I started to feel itchy and suffered from constipation. I was also extremely tired, so I went to my local polyclinic and they said I had jaundice. The doctor there sent me to the Research Institute of Virology where they diagnosed me with hepatitis C,” she recalls.
“My family stood by me and I did not have to hide anything. At first, my husband did not believe that I could have contracted this disease and he insisted that I get a second test. However, when the results came back, he supported me, saying, ‘It’s just an illness.’ His reaction made our relationship stronger.”
Fully curable with better access to treatment
Qurbonova explains that eventually she accepted the diagnosis as a life experience and a personal trial, but that, at first, she knew very little about the illness.
“When I found out that I was infected with hepatitis, I became depressed. The doctors were very kind to me, though. They helped me to understand more about the disease and treatment and helped me to overcome my anxieties.”
During her recovery, she met a cirrhosis patient who said the money she had spent on treatment several years ago could have bought her a small house. Since then, the Government has made full hepatitis C treatment, as well as testing, available for free.
“Treatment used to be very expensive before the Government started giving the drugs for free, so I am very grateful. The Research Institute of Virology gave me 3 months of pills to take at home. I set alarms to remind myself to take them on time, and when I went back to the doctor, I was cured.”
Qurbonova says there were no side effects from the drugs, and that she would like others to realize that the disease is fully curable. After finishing treatment, she no longer felt fatigued and went on to have a baby. However, she stresses the importance of getting treated early to prevent serious illness.
“The doctors said that even though my initial results showed I was very close to cirrhosis, this did not mean it was cirrhosis, and it was curable. I was very relieved.”