Tbilisi. The Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs did not implement the Public Defender’s proposal concerning involvement of persons with neutral identity cards in the hepatitis C program. The proposal, sent by the Public Defender, stated that populations of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region belonged to especially vulnerable categories, which had to live under occupation, grave social, economic and human rights situation.

''The Public Defender is aware that the state program for hepatitis C is costly and requires special security measures, though the Minister’s reply does not make it clear what are the risks of giving medicines to persons with neutral identity cards (in contrast with persons with Georgian citizen's identity cards) and why the existing security measures are not enough, including the reception of the first pill in front of a camera, visit to the clinic once a fortnight, recount of the remained drugs in front of a camera and return of an empty box of medicines at the end of each month'', is noted in the statement. 

Source: www.ombudsman.ge