On Febtuary, 15, the start of public campaign “Our Children” was announced by 20 NGOs.

During the press-conference in Kyiv dedicated to the International Day of Children with Cancer campaign initiators published a statement with a call to the government to take distinct steps, which would treat every child who can be saved with the means of modern medicine.

Among the participants in the press-conference were representatives of medical institutions, NGOs and parents of children with cancer.

“We have to make our government to carry out the Constitution and its duty to children”, - stated Anna Hopko, campaign coordinator and activist of movement “The Area of Freedom”. – “Ukraine is building stadiums with cost of 4 billion hryvnyas, and can’t build a modern hospital for children with cost of 1,5 billion hryvnyas?! It’s planned to spend over 400 million hryvnyas for medical services for deputies and governmental officials, and for treatment of not only children, of all Ukrainian citizens abroad – only 14 millions! It’s not the case of budget deficit, it’s the case of conscience and responsibility deficit”, - persuaded Anna Hopko.

“My child fights for life for 9 years, and she can be saved only with transplantation of marrow, which is not practiced in Ukraine. Such operation costs up to 250 thousands Euro, and we cannot wait for months or years, every day counts for life or death”, - tells parent of child with cancer Vitaliy Chucherov.

In Ukraine there is over 5,5 thousands of children with cancer. Every year this terrible diagnosis gets around 1500 little Ukrainians. And only half of them survive. At the same time, in developed countries over 75% of children with cancer are treated.

Initiators of campaign “Our Children” are convinced that Ukraine is able to achieve these indicators too. We are to create at least one clinic in 2-3 years, where all kinds of marrow transplantation would be made. For stopping delays in making such hospital, promised for over 12 years by governmental officials, civil activists offer to make public the schedule of construction, equipment procurement etc, which has to be followed by authority (as it was with the Euro-2012 objects). Rejection to publish such schedule or its breakdown would be a signal to start civil protests.

Until no such operations are practiced in Ukraine, government has to finance treatment of all children abroad (400-600 million hryvnyas per year).

Besides, NGOs demand on 100% public funding of drugs for children with cancer (today the bigger part of them is bought by parents and volunteers) and Ukraine’s joining to the International Registry of Marrow Donors.

“This goals are real”, - convinced Nataliya Kubalya, head of department of onco-rheumatology of “Okhmatdyt”, “today society responds to the call for help, saving lives for a lot of children, and state, unfortunately, do not demonstrate such attitude. But we can change this”.