Transparency up to a penny: the new decree of the President of Belarus excludes abuse when raising funds for treatment

Since September 12, Presidential Decree No. 304 “On foundations and charitable activities in the field of health care” has been in force. Its key goal is clear: help should reach the person for whom it is going, and the process should be transparent and controlled. The document does not complicate the work of those who previously acted openly. For bona fide funds, nothing fundamentally changes. But the decree excludes attempts to use charity as a tool of profit.

Svetlana Marinich with her son Marat. The decree forms clear rules for the organization of fundraising, their movement and ensuring targeted use. It is essentially a legal framework that makes charity predictable and protected. For those who need to raise funds for medical care, purchase of medical equipment, special nutrition, the algorithm is simple and consistent, commented the Minister of Justice Yevgeny Kovalenko:

- To open a charity account, you first need to contact the bank. There you should present medical documents that confirm the need for the patient to provide medical care. If the collection of funds is not carried out personally for the applicant, but for members of his family, it is necessary to submit documents confirming the kinship. The application for opening a charity account also specifies the purpose of the collection and the limit, that is, the maximum amount that the applicant expects to collect through the banking mechanism. Once a charity account is opened, the same algorithm that existed before the decree was issued continues to work. That is, information is placed on the Internet, the media, other sources of distribution are used. Only one charity account can be opened for one person. This clarification is aimed at combating possible abuses, which, unfortunately, periodically took place in the field of charitable activities for the purpose of collecting money for the provision of medical care. Another mechanism is being consolidated, Evgeny Kovalenko stressed:

- In accordance with the provisions of the decree, funds that exceed the stated limit, that is, the amount that the applicants planned to collect, the account holder must transfer to any other charitable account for the benefit of any other person. If within three months the account holder for various reasons did not make such a decision, the bank informs state bodies, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, and state structures where to send money. At the same time, they can be used only for the purpose of providing medical care and are transferred only to charitable accounts of state health institutions.

In addition to individuals, the subjects of charitable activities are public associations and foundations, one of the purposes of which is to provide charitable assistance in the field of health care. The same procedure applies to such non-profit organizations. They also open charitable accounts and subsequently, upon reaching the purpose of collection, that is, a certain amount, transfer funds to the accounts of health organizations that will provide medical care. Thanks to a large charity collection, three-year-old Marat from Soligorsk got the opportunity to fully grow. After birth, the boy developed as an ordinary child, but he did not start walking on his own - he moved only holding on to the support. The family turned to the Soligorsk polyclinic, examinations began. An analysis for spinal muscle atrophy confirmed the diagnosis.

- I couldn’t believe that it happened to us, says mother Svetlana Marinich. When I heard this diagnosis, the ground went from under my feet, time was divided into before and after. On the day of receiving the result, my son and I were just undergoing an MRI in the RSPC “Mother and Child”. I managed to immediately get to the Department of neuromuscular diseases, talk to doctors and get recommendations. It was clear that Marat was shown an expensive drug zolgensma, and for its introduction you need to open a fee.

Svetlana promptly opened a charity account in Belarusbank. It required $1,818,000 to be raised, but time was limited: the drug was used until the child reached a certain weight. The rescue injection was introduced in the RSPC “Mother and Child” in July last year.

- The level of work of this clinic and doctors is the highest, Svetlana emphasizes. It was important for us that the treatment was carried out in Belarus. Now that a little more than a year has passed since the introduction of the drug, the result is obvious: Marat became much more active, muscle strength in the arms and legs grew.

The mother recalls that during the collection for the treatment of his son had to constantly prove his integrity: in social networks there was a lot of skepticism, people were afraid of fraudsters. The family published reports every two days, showed balances on accounts, attached documents, photos. All the information was open, but mistrust still had to be overcome, spending time on explanations.

Svetlana Marinich is convinced: – The presidential decree will increase people’s trust in charitable collections. Now they know for sure that their money goes to save the child, and not into the hands of those who try to take advantage of someone else's trouble. Theme

Since 2023, the RSPC “Mother and Child” has opened a special centralized charity account to raise funds for the treatment of children with SMA. All incoming donations are directed to the purchase and implementation of expensive gene replacement therapy. Since the beginning of 2021, about 20 children with spinal muscular atrophy have received expensive treatment, including 14 people with the funds of a charitable account in the RSPC “Mother and Child”.

KSTATI

The Belarusian Union of Women also raises funds for the purchase of medicines for children with life-threatening and chronic diseases. Recently, funds from the charitable account of the public organization were used to purchase the drug zolgensma for Vladislav Gladky, who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy of type III.