Launch of EECA CAB website

On the web site you can find, among other things, minutes of meetings with companies, news about treatment advocacy activities, data on drugs available and in development, position papers of EECA CAB regarding policies of companies etc.

The main goal of EECA CAB is to improve access to the treatment of HIV, hepatitis C and TB in the countries of the region using the joint forces of the patient community. EECA CAB includes treatment access activists from the following countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Estonia.

The objectives of EECA CAB are:

• To ensure equal dialogue on a regional level between the community of patients, the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory agencies to achieve universal treatment access in the region
• To increase the role of the community of patients in the processes regulating price setting, procurement mechanisms and clinical trials in the region
• To establish a regional hub for building the capacity of the community of patients in EECA in the field of treatment access
• Represent the interests of the community of patients in the region on the global level.

Eastern Europe and Central Asia remains one of the most affected regions in terms of the rate and prevalence of HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis C.

EECA CAB is the only region in the world in which the number of new HIV cases and AIDS-related deaths continues to increase. The coverage of ART is extremely low – only 25% of the people in need of treatment currently receive it.

Tuberculosis and hepatitis C are the major causes of death among people living with HIV. The number of MDR-TB cases and XDR-cases are becoming more frequent. The chances of developing a drug-resistant form of TB are ten time higher in the patients of the EECA region.

Source: EECA CAB