Starting in 2025, Russia will launch a federal initiative to combat hepatitis C, focusing on enhancing treatment accessibility. This initiative will be closely tied to the new national project “Long Active Life.” According to Kulikova, the Director of the Department of Emergency Medical Care and Health Risk Management at the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, viral hepatitis C will be the sole infectious disease addressed in this program.
Other diseases that will be addressed by federal projects included in the national project are cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. The projects will include such tasks as solving problems with drug supply and expanding access to modern treatment methods for all those in need, both on an outpatient basis and in hospitals.
In 2024, federal subsidies to regions were implemented for the first time to provide outpatient treatment for patients with the necessary drugs for the treatment of hepatitis C. At the same time, regional authorities are obliged to maintain the current level of funding for the purchase of medicines, Kulikova explained during the III National Congress with international participation “National Healthcare – 2024”.
