Parents of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy have issued an ultimatum to Georgian authorities.

The Georgian government must import modern medications for the treatment of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, their parents said at a protest outside the government office. They demanded a meeting with the prime minister within five days, otherwise they intend to set up tents outside the government building.

A protest is being held outside the government office (Government Administration) demanding the import of modern medications for children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Participants in the protest are also demanding a meeting with the prime minister.

They brought banners with various slogans to the protest site: "Save a life, save the future"; "Every day is a fight for life"; "Every day is priceless—state inaction is tantamount to a lost life," InterPressNews reports.

"We expected the Ministry of Health and the Minister to propose concrete measures after we appealed to the Prime Minister to intervene in this process and take action. Unfortunately, during this time, we also lost one child—a 17-year-old. No steps have been taken regarding medications or research. We have repeatedly verified the lies and false promises of the Minister of Health. He does not take responsibility, so we will not communicate with him," TV Pirveli quotes one parent as saying.

According to the organization "Fighting Together Against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy," there are approximately 100 children in Georgia with this diagnosis.
At the rally, an ultimatum was issued to the authorities: parents of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy gave the government five days. After this, they say they will start setting up tents, Tbilisi Life reports.

As "Caucasian Knot" wrote, Duchenne disease (Duchenne muscular dystrophy) is diagnosed in approximately one in 3,500 to 4,000 boys and is characterized by progressive muscular dystrophy that manifests itself in early childhood and leads to the inability to walk as early as the second decade of life and, in most cases, to death in the second or third decade of life, pediatrician Yevgeny Zolotov told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent earlier.

"The disease is caused by a change (mutation, most often a deletion or duplication) in the dystrophin gene, located on the X chromosome. The gene that causes the disease is located in "The X chromosome, and therefore the disease is much more severe in boys, since they only have one X chromosome," he noted. He added that this is a very rare and highly specialized area of ​​expertise among doctors.

As a reminder, during the month of Ramadan, a fundraising campaign for 230 million rubles was closed for the treatment of a nine-year-old boy from Dagestan with Duchenne muscular dystrophy using the drug Elevidis. Earlier, on January 1, 2026, a fundraising campaign for another child from Dagestan with this diagnosis was also closed. The Russian foundation "Circle of Kindness" only covers treatment for children with this diagnosis who are under nine years and one month old.