Ukrainian Pharmacists Congress discussed this problem

Kharkiv's Lysenko State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater has hosted the Fifth National Congress of Pharmacists, which gathered 2,200 delegates from all Ukrainian regions and 34 foreign countries.

This very representative forum of scientists, doctors, and medicine producers is to analyze the state of affairs in the branch, develop a Pharmacy 2005 draft program, and elaborate a Ukrainian pharmacists code. The scientific program includes 15 symposiums, 45 conferences, 13 presentation sessions, and 20 discussions. Also, an exhibition called Pharmaceutical Ukraine has been staged in the framework of the congress.

On the first day of the congress People's Deputy and Academician Yuri Spizhenko read a paper stating that despite economic collapse, Ukrainian pharmaceutical enterprises continue to work and produce medicines, which by large are not inferior to imports. Producer and commercial company tables were stuffed with such medicines, but they are not available in hospitals and drug stores. This is a natural result of cuts in budget spending for medicine (as of today, it is only 3% of GDP), along with the falling buying power of the people.

The Academician's report was strangely confirmed by the fact that less than two weeks before this forum of homegrown pharmacists, two planes stuffed with American medicines landed at the Kharkiv airport. This was followed by a convoy of trucks with equipment from Germany. Thus, humanitarian aid ($16.5 million) was equal to the two-year budget of all medical facilities in Kharkiv oblast and exceeds the total output of our pharmaceutical and medical industry. The medicines under the supervision of US volunteers came not to depots, but directly to hospitals, which also shows a different approach, used in our country and their to support domestic medicine.

As Mr. Spizhenko said, the main task of the pharmaceutical sector is to create a harmonious and transparent system for accessing medicines. That is, patient's interests come above everything else. But that this motto might perhaps become a dominant idea not only in pharmacy. Because a patient is first of all a citizen of his or her state.

INCIDENTALLY

Last week Leonid Kuchma issued a decree establishing a Day of the Pharmaceutical Worker. According to this document, this professional holiday will be celebrated annually on the third Saturday of September.