COPENHAGEN, September 16. /ITAR-TASS/. A WHO non-communicable disease office will be opened in Moscow in 2015 as a recognition of Russia’s achievements in the area of public health, Sergei Mravyov, the director of the international cooperation department of the Russian ministry of health, told ITAR-TASS on Tuesday.
“For the first time since 1991, Russia can boast natural population growth, life span has increased, infantile and maternal mortality has considerably decreased,” said Muravyov, who heads the Russian delegation to the 64th session of WHO Committee for Europe currently underway in Copenhagen.
“Russia has successfully implemented a number of projects of the World Health Organization (WHO). Last year, about 200 million U.S. dollars were allocated to fund anti-HIV and anti-AIDS programmes. Efforts are being taken to contain Ebola - our infectiologists are working in Africa, it is planned to send a laboratory, a Russian vaccine is about to be finished,” he noted. “In short, Russia has an active position on the entire spectrum of WHO-related issues, and would not be an exaggeration to say that it is a driving force of this work.”
According to Muravyov, Russia will allocate 22 million U.S. dollars to open a WHO non-communicable disease office in 2015. “Such temporary WHO offices are opened for a certain period in countries that achieved success in certain areas of public health,” he said. “These offices are tasked to work out recommendations, to organize conferences and to train specialists. This office will be opened in Moscow, since Russia is an acclaimed leader in the treatment on non-infectious diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, respiratory and cardio-vascular diseases.”
The tense international situation has had no negative impacts on cooperation between the Russian health ministry with its foreign partners. “We are still present in all international agencies, we take part in conferences,” he said. “There is general understanding that healthcare should not be affected by unfavourable political factors. We all work in the same field. So far, there have been no political statements at the ongoing session.”
Muravyov noted that the Russian health ministry was rendering help to Ukraine. It had sent medical equipment, medicines and medical materials in the two humanitarian convoys to eastern Ukraine, he said, adding that Ukrainian citizens had been receiving medical help in Russian establishments.