Expenditures for the governmental program Available Medicines launched in April this year and aimed at improving the well-being of people and extending life expectancy in Ukraine will make up UAH 1 billion in 2018. This was stated by Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman during the Government sitting.

He stressed the program, which envisages the provision of free medicines to cure cardiovascular disease, asthma and diabetes, is successful and prescriptions to obtain free medicines have been provided to the tune of 13 million. The Prime Minister placed a special emphasis on the fact that the great responsibility for the implementation of the initiative lies with the local authorities, who in fact are the disposers of budget allocations directed to the implementation of the program.

"Responsibility of local governments is of utmost importance", claimed Volodymyr Groysman and added that the implementation of Available Medicines program in some regions is good, in others is bad.

The Prime Minister recalled the total amount of program financing in the current year amounted to 700 million hryvnias, while only the sum worth UAH 600 million was utilized. In some regions, the amount of funding for the program does not cover up even the half of the allocated funds.

" It is vitally important for people. I will not tolerate such things. I believe that the leaders of the regions who are not able to organize work on such issues - are not needed ... I will not let anyone be indifferent.  Next year, the support for the program will be UAH 1 billion", Volodymyr Groysman underlined.

The Head of Government urged all line leaders both in the central authorities and on the ground to do their job. "Let's transform decaying health system into a story of our joint success," he claimed.