Yulia Tymoshenko calls on President to sign "anti-epidemic" law

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is calling on President Viktor Yushchenko to sign the law allocating 1 billion UAH to finance measures to battle the flu epidemic and acute respiratory illnesses.

"I am asking the President to urgently sign this law allowing the government and Ministry of Health to obtain 1 billion hryvnias because without these funds the purchase of medicine and supplies will be slowed down significantly," Yulia Tymoshenko said during a working visit to the Zakarpattia oblast.

The Prime Minister reminded that the given law was ratified by the Verkhovna Rada three days ago, but has yet to be signed by the head of state.

On November 3, Ukraine’s Parliament passed a government proposal by 401 votes to approve the allocation of 1 billion UAH to fight the epidemic in Ukraine by amending the law of Ukraine "Concerning the 2009 State Budget" (regarding the supply of all the nation’s hospitals with necessary medicine and equipment to diagnose diseases and the spread of the flu epidemic)".

"One billion hryvnias, as envisaged in this bill, will be used for four top-priority measures: medicine, equipment, additional beds and everything that the Ministry of Emergency Situations needs. The use of this money will be controlled on one side by the General Prosecutor’s Office and on the other the Auditing Chamber both of whom cannot be suspected of being part of the government team. These are worthy controlling bodies and these measures can be objectively and efficiently controlled," said Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, presenting the bill to the Ukrainian Parliament.

The Ministry of Health was selected as the main administrator of these funds.