An internally displaced woman with diabetes receives free medical care and glucose test strips

Publication date: February 7, 2024

This success story comes from the practice of Tetiana Biliaieva, a paralegal with the Ukrainian Paralegal Association. She is one of more than ten coordinators who, as part of the Regional Coordinators’ Initiative*, have helped residents of their communities solve social and legal problems by calling on the lawyers of the Legal Development Network for professional advice and assistance.

Tetiana Biliaieva (pictured) is an active leader of the Dykanka community in Poltava oblast. She implements environmental projects in her community involving young people. Tetiana also has credibility and trust among the parents of her students, who often turn to her for advice and help. One of them is Halyna**, an IDP from Kharkiv who now lives in the village of Velyki Budyshcha, Poltava oblast.

She suffered from diabetes and wanted to know what medical benefits she was entitled to as an IDP, including whether she could get free glucose test strips.

• “Paralegals and lawyers have a common chat room where they respond to requests promptly. For example, Lada Karaban, a lawyer from the Khmilnyk-based NGO Pravo (Vinnytsia oblast), responded to Tetiana Biliaieva’s request. She explained to the paralegal what rights Halyna has as an internally displaced person to receive basic health care in the community where she now lives,” says Maryna Tsarapaieva (pictured right), coordinator of the Regional Coordinators Initiative and a paralegal with the Ukrainian Paralegal Association.

Lada Karaban (pictured left) also noted that blood glucose test strips are part of the government’s Affordable Medicines Program, which provides full or partial payment of the cost of certain medicines from the budget. Specifically, the Affordable Medicines Program has included blood glucose test strips since October 2023. The list of medical devices reimbursed under the State Medical Care Guarantee Program contains 23 types of test strips, which are wholly or partially refunded. They can be purchased at a pharmacy with an electronic prescription from a doctor.

During a personal consultation, Paralegal Tetiana Biliaieva shared this information with Halyna, explaining in detail how to access free primary health care in the Dykanka community and how to use the expanded list of medicines under the Affordable Medicines Program.

As a result, the woman can receive a free medical consultation, a prescription, and eventually test strips for a glucometer to monitor her blood sugar levels constantly.

* The material was created within the Regional Coordinators’ Initiative framework. The Initiative is released with the support of the international charitable platform GlobalGiving and Legal Empowerment Fund (a program of the Fund for Global Human Rights) and the Legal Development Network. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the Legal Development Network and do not necessarily reflect the views of the previously mentioned organizations.

** Name has been changed for ethical reasons.

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