Donetsk patients press to make methadone available to the hospitalised

A group of OST patients in Donetsk, Ukraine celebrated a victory in March when the local department of health signed the decree making methadone treatment available in all inpatient healthcare facilities.

Methadone and buprenorphine are administered on a daily basis in specialized clinics, but had been unavailable to those hospitalized in maternity wards or TB hospitals.

With a small grant from IHRD and the OSF foundation in Ukraine, patients in Donestk advocated successfully for a city-wide order on continuity of OST treatment, collecting signatures, using the media, and writing letters to the Prime Minister of Ukraine. The local health department issued the decree authorizing OST in hospital settings in March, 2012.

For more information, contact Sarah Evans and Olena Kucheruk.

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