On May 19 and 20, 2010, the Open Society Foundations, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, and the WHO Country Office in Ukraine/Regional Office for Europe organized key meetings in Kyiv, coinciding with World Hepatitis Awareness Day.
Government officials, health care professionals, and civil society groups attended a roundtable meeting on May 19 based on the "12 Asks" campaign developed and promoted by the World Health Alliance. The meeting featured discussions on strategic approaches for controlling the hepatitis epidemic in Ukraine, including technical challenges and potential sources of financial support. Participants also took steps toward developing a national program to combat viral hepatitis. In addition, a hepatitis working group will be formed to serve as a consulting and advisory body under the Ministry of Public Health. The roundtable resulted in the development and adoption of a resolution by the meeting participants for further use as an advocacy tool and a technical document for future actions and measures to control the epidemic of viral hepatitis in Ukraine.
On May 20, civil society members attended a strategic planning meeting cosponsored by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and Open Society Foundations. The meeting sought to coordinate efforts by civil society to prevent, diagnose, and treat hepatitis in Ukraine.