Medications for Children`s Oncological Units

Dear Friend,

Living in Ukraine today has many challenges and difficulties. And every day that passes immediately becomes history. 

But despite everything, in 2023, children facing childhood cancer received the help they needed to recover. 

Now, we want to share our report for the past year. Creating this report required us to remember so much, relive those moments, and compile the data. But at the same time, we felt joy and pride in what we had done and achieved.

In these difficult times for our country, success in implementing all important tasks is even more valuable. But behind this success, there is always a team that made it possible. That is why today, we want to not only report but also fill this letter with words of gratitude. 

First, we thank you, our donors — the people who support our mission and the children under our care. Thanks to you, children who are bravely overcoming cancer receive diagnostics, treatment, and everything they need to recover despite the war in our country. 

We thank the doctors — those without whom successful treatment of children would be impossible.

We thank the families who come to us for help — for their trust. We cannot betray it, so we strive to provide the maximum amount and range of assistance to every family facing childhood cancer.

We are very proud that children have such reliable partners and friends as you on their treatment journey, which is full of challenges. You are a special part of a powerful mechanism that works together for a common goal — to help Ukrainian children overcome cancer. Feel the extent of support they have received thanks to you

REPORT 2023

We manage your funds responsibly and do our best to achieve meaningful results efficiently. Thank you for standing with us — with the children, us, and Ukraine.

Sincerely,

The Tabletochki Foundation team

Links:

• Annual report 2023 online

• ANNUAL REPORT 2023 (PDF)
  

Dear Friend,

We are infinitely grateful for your help with our wards and would like you to know more about how your support works. Today, we will share additional information about how pediatric oncology treatment is funded in Ukraine, why there is still a need for medications, and how children receive them thanks to your donations.

Thanks to the rapid development of healthcare, the survival rate of children with oncological diagnoses in high-income countries has increased to 80-95%. Unfortunately, this percentage is still lower in Ukraine. Before the full-scale invasion, it was estimated to be around 60-70%. However, war-related challenges significantly limit children's access to proper treatment, consequently reducing their chances of recovery.

Medication – Aid's most important part

Timely protocol treatment with quality medicine is a necessary precondition for recovery. Nowadays, in Ukraine, there are several regulated sources for providing medicine to those children fighting cancer. The state procures the largest and most expensive part. Centralized medical purchases for pediatric oncology occur annually within the so-called nomenclature — a list of essential medications.

The second source is the hospital budget, formed through payments for medical services provided by the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU). Apart from the income for services provided by the NHSU (the state) and payments for commercial services, the hospital budget may include additional local funding.

So why is there still a need for medications? 

Unfortunately, even the combination of such sources does not cover all the needs for high-quality pediatric cancer treatment.

The aforementioned nomenclature (the list of medications centrally procured by the state) has not been updated for three years already. During this time, new effective medications have emerged. State procurements do not cover them and they are usually very expensive. Adding extra items to the vocabulary is very difficult because the medication must undergo a health technology assessment process. Manufacturers often refuse to go through this process, as the Ukrainian market, with a relatively small cohort of children with oncological diseases, is economically unattractive to them.

Due to a limited budget, this year, the field of pediatric oncology will be funded by centralized medical procurements only by 72%.

As for hospital budgets, the tariffs within the oncology and hematology packages of NHSU medical guarantees have not been reviewed for more than three years. Funding from regional or city budgets depends on many factors and may be missing or insufficient.

What happens if the hospital does not have the necessary medications?

If doctors prescribe medications that are not available in the hospital, the child's parents are forced to look for them on their own. The help of the Tabletochki, with the support of donors like you, often becomes crucial in such situations.

After the family's request and consultation with independent medical experts regarding the expediency of the prescriptions, the fund purchases the necessary medications.

Treating pediatric cancer comes with many challenges, especially during the war, when funding for this area moves to the background. That is why, together with you, we are doing everything possible to ensure that, despite everything, children receive high-quality treatment and recover.

Thank you for being here for the children. Together, we are defeating pediatric cancer