Ukraine intends to defeat the tuberculosis epidemic by the end of this decade, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.

"COVID19 is not a reason to forget about other diseases. Today is World Tuberculosis Day. Ukraine, supported by the United Nations, intends to overcome the epidemic of the disease by 2030. In Ukraine, the incidence of active tuberculosis decreased by 30% last year," Zelensky said on Twitter.

As reported, on March 11, a new batch of tuberculosis vaccines (BCG) was delivered to Ukraine.

"BCG vaccines are already in Ukraine. UAH 1.717 million was allocated for the purchase of the vaccine at the expense of the state budget of 2018. Delivery was provided by UNICEF. The first batch, which has already been received, is 450,000 doses. We expect the second batch of 640,000 doses after a while," Deputy Minister of Health Svitlana Shatalova said.

She noted that by the corresponding order of the Ministry of Health, vaccines were distributed to 24 regions and the city of Kyiv.