The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is launching an innovative project in Ukraine to evaluate a simplified strategy for the treatment of hepatitis C, EQUIP Program Manager Thembi Xulu said at a press conference on Thursday.

The project provides for the introduction of a simplified system for testing and treating patients with hepatitis C, during which they will receive a fixed dose of a combination of two drugs for this disease - ledipasvir and sofosbuvir.

Under this program, 4,000 people from different regions of the country will receive the treatment, including 800 people during the first stage, and 3,200 people during the second stage.

The project is aimed at developing new treatment protocols and calculating its cost for Ukrainian patients.

The project is being implemented by USAID in cooperation with the Health Ministry of Ukraine, the Public Health Center, the All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV, as well as the Public Health Alliance.