Getting Hepatitis C Treatment In Serbia is not easy

Hepatitis C Treatment in Serbia

The Other Pandemic, Hepatitis C.

Whilst everyone in the media is talking about the COVID 19 pandemic it is almost impossible to get the media to pay any attention to the global Hepatitis C pandemic.

The fact that the COVID 19  global infection number is now over 30 million got huge headlines around the world… but what about Hep C?

Globally more than 100 million people are infected with Hepatitis C and since 1990 more than 30 million people have died from Hepatitis C.

Even though there is a cure for Hepatitis C more than 70% of people with Hep C can not access the cure because of the prices.

Imagine if a cure was found for COVID 19 and the pharmaceutical companies charged US$25,000 per treatment… there would be outrage and uproar!!!

So, my work is to help people access Hepatitis C treatment at affordable prices.

Every day I get emails from around the world from desperate people who have Hep C but cannot afford the treatment.

One of the countries I get a lot of inquiries from is Serbia.

How Many Serbs Have Hep C ?

Estimates on how many Serbs have Hepatitis C vary a lot. Official figures suggest that about 1% of the Serbian population is infected with Hep C however it may be that the numbers are much higher than that. The reality is that the Hep C infection rates in Serbia are more like 2%. Certainly, we know that about 50% of intravenous drug users in Serbia are infected with Hepatitis C.

Hepatitis C Treatment In Serbia

in Serbia, technically speaking, health care, including Hepatitis C treatment, is free. However, because of the prices of direct-acting antiviral drugs the Serbia Health system’s “ free”  treatment is based on the use of Interferon, because Interferon is much cheaper.

Interferon is also much less effective and has terrible side effects.

In Serbia even to get Interferon treatment is almost impossible as the Serbia Health system is chronically underfunded, dilapidated and generally falling apart.

A room in a Serbia hospital sent to me by one of my Serbian friends

Corruption and poverty in Serbia has destroyed the public health system.

The consequence for people with Hepatitis C is that the waiting list is so long that one is likely to die before accessing treatment.

So Serbs naturally look to generic Hep C medicines.

Here it gets crazy.

The Serbian government prohibits its citizens from importing medicines for personal use.

It’s illegal.

So, in Serbia, where corruption is endemic, access to generic Hepatitis C medicines is controlled by the Serbian Mafia.

Hep C and the Serbian Mafia

The Serbian Mafia imports the generic Hep C treatments into Serbia via Moldova however the problem with this is that the Mafia has a monopoly on Hep C meds in Serbia and there fore controls the prices.

So to buy generic Hep C medication in Serbia the price is around US,000 for a 12 week treatment.

(The Mafia is paying around US$300 per treatment)

Most Serbs earn around US$300 to $400 per month.  So a treatment will cost around 6 months wages.

These people have zero disposable income so the Mafia loans them the money on high interest rates.

Serbs with a little English and little international know how look for options on the internet.

Some find me and some find other people, some who are reputable and some who are not.

Here is the story of a group of Serbian friends who banded together to get treatment for one of their friends.

The English version of the story is below the Serbian Language version.

Kako pobediti hepatitis C u Srbiji, moja priča

Kako pobediti Hepatitis C, moja priča…

Želela bih da podelim iskustvo sa ljudima obolelim od Hepatitis C, genotip 1, svoje i iskustvo našeg prijatelja B.J, koji je uspeo da se izleči od ove ozbiljne i opasne bolesti. Nakon skoro godinu dana bezuspešnog isčekivanja, da lek dobije preko Zdravsvenog osiguranja (inače odobreno od državne Komisije), mi grupa prijatelja iz Beograda preuzimamo inicijativu. Rešili smo da nabavimo lek preko interneta i tako srećom dolazimo do velikog humanitarca Greg Jefferys i Buyers’ Club iz Australije. Dugo isčekivani lek Harvoni je stigao u rekordnom rok na moju adresu u Beogradu, za manje od mesec dana. Samo da podsetim ovaj lek u USA košta $84.000, u Evropi oko $40.000, Australija $5.000… Generički lek Harvoni se legalno proizvodi u Indiji i Egiptu, po višestruko nižoj tarifi, a mi smo ga dobili po povlašćenoj ceni od $550 za kompletnu treapiju od 12 nedelja. Sa zadovoljstvom i neizmernom srećom mogu da objavim da naš prijatelj B. posle popijene JEDNE tromesečne ture lekova i dobijenih laboratotijskih rezultata, NEMA VIŠE VIRUS HEPATITIS C !!!

HVALA GREGU, možda je mala reč… ČAST MI JE DA GA POZNAJEM i  DIVLJENJE za promociju humanosti, istrajnost u bespoštednoj borbi sa farmaceutskom mafijom i za posvećenost u pomaganju ljudima širom sveta!

Ljiljana Ostijić

PS  Za dodatne informacije pogledajte i pročitajte:

• Novinski članak na engleskom – New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/opinion/the-tasmanian-hep-c-buyers-club.html

• Youtube intervju – The Guardian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE-v6KvhzLk
• How to beat Hepatitis C In Serbia, my story
• For more stories about people with Hepatitis C in Serbia click here

English Translation

Hepatitis C Treatment in Serbia

I would like to share my experience with people from Serbia who have Hepatitis C, genotype 1.

This is my own story and the experience of my dear friend B.J., who has now managed to recover from this serious and dangerous disease.

After almost a year of unsuccessful waiting for the medicine to be received through the Health Insurance (otherwise approved by the state Commission), we, a group of friends from Belgrade, decided to take the initiative and smuggle the needed medicines into Serbia to save our friend.

After a lot of research we decided to get the medicine online and so luckily we came across the great humanitarian Greg Jefferys and the Buyers ’Club from Australia.

Because I speak English well enough I was chosen to represent our group and I had many emails with Greg explaining our situation.

We were worried how the medicines would get past Serbian Customs but Greg assured us that he had ways to get the Hepatitis C medicines into Serbia and that he would guarantee the delivery.

Of course we were a little worried because it was a lot of money to be sending to a stranger.

But we went ahead and at last the long-awaited medicine generic Harvoni arrived at my address in Belgrade in record time, in less than a month.

Just to remind you this drug in the USA costs $ 84,000, in Europe about $ 40,000, Australia $ 5,000 … The generic drug Harvoni is legally produced in India at a much lower rate.

Because we explained our situation to Greg he gave us the Harvoni at a discounted price of US$ 550 for a complete treatment of 12 weeks including the delivery to Serbia.

Now 5 months later, with pleasure and immense happiness, I can announce that our friend B., after taking the three-month course of these generic Hepatitis C drugs has obtained the final laboratory results and he NO LONGER HAS THE HEPATITIS C VIRUS !!!

THANK YOU GREG, maybe thanks is a small word…

I AM HONORED TO KNOW GREG AND WONDER at him for promoting humanity, perseverance in the relentless fight against the pharmaceutical mafia and for dedication in helping people around the world!

Ljiljana

PS For more information see and read:

Newspaper article in English – New York Times:

About Greg Jefferys

To talk to me about Hep C Treatment: Click Here to Email Me

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