Ukraine needs a national plan to combat diabetes, in the conditions of war it will allow to optimize expenses on treatment and prevention of the disease, believes head of the council of the Ukrainian Diabetic Federation (UDF) Valentyna Ocheretenko.

"Our goal is to get a national plan to combat diabetes despite the war. We have been trying to lobby this issue for many years, it is especially relevant, since this is the only way to optimize expenses and do work that proves its effectiveness for the healthcare system. It is important that a group be created in parliament that will help us," she said during a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Thursday.

Ocheretenko also emphasized the need for prevention and early diagnosis of diabetes.

"There is an urgent need to invest in diabetes prevention. Early and better treatment is key to preventing its costly and devastating complications. If Ukraine is committed to European integration, we must listen to the recommendations of the European Parliament and international organizations to improve prevention and treatment outcomes for people with diabetes in our country," she said.

At the same time, Ocheretenko noted that in wartime, logistical obstacles and destroyed infrastructure complicate access to essential health services for an increasing number of civilians, in particular for people with this disease.

"Ukraine will receive $454 million from the World Bank as part of the project "Transforming Healthcare through Reform and Investments in Efficiency." We hope that part of these funds will be used to increase the availability of diabetes care," she said.

In turn, Oksana Dmitriyeva, Deputy Head of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance, drew attention to the problem of access to treatment for military personnel who have diabetes.

"The problem is men who are mobilized and who are on the front lines. They do not have the necessary access to medications and to certain nutrition that a person with diabetes should have. Due to poor nutrition, their health deteriorates, which can lead to complications," she said.

For her part, the director of the northern interregional department of the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU), Viktoria Miliutina, reported that since the beginning of the year, the NHSU has paid UAH 2.4 billion for insulin reimbursement under the reimbursement program, which is about half of all payments under the program of medical guarantees (PMG).

According to the electronic healthcare system, more than 584,000 patients have used prescriptions for drugs to treat type 2 diabetes, including 129,000 children. Almost 204,000 people received free insulin, including more than 11,000 children. Medical products, that is, test strips, were received by over 10,000 people, including a thousand children. Some 2,000 people have diabetes insipidus, including 131 children.

"We have over 2 million cancelled prescriptions for type 2 diabetes, over 1 million cancelled prescriptions for free insulin, about 22,000 for test strips, and over 7,000 for diabetes insipidus. This is the result of incredible teamwork by the entire healthcare system," she said.

Miliutina also reported that the Affordable Medicines reimbursement program currently includes 55 medications for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, four medications for the treatment of diabetes insipidus, 63 trade names of insulin medications, and 45 test strips for measuring blood sugar levels.