KAMPALA, April 17. /TASS/. The risk of new epidemic outbreaks remains high across the world, particularly in Africa, and Moscow is open to cooperation in healthcare, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a message of greetings to participants in the first Russian-African International Conference on Combating Infectious Diseases.
"The risk of new epidemic outbreaks or the spread of the already known dangerous diseases remains very high. The African continent is particularly vulnerable to these challenges and needs accelerated build-up of medical, scientific, and technological capabilities to protect the population against various infections. For its part, Russia is ready for most active cooperation in this crucial healthcare area," Putin said in his message, which was read out by Anna Popova, chief of Russia’s sanitary watchdog.
The Russian president pointed out that Moscow’s "program of assistance to the African countries in sanitary and epidemiological well-being, launched in 2023, provides for the delivery of ten mobile high-containment biological laboratories, training of over 350 African specialists, and conducting a series of joint scientific research."
Putin welcomed participants in the conference, noting that the event was based on the initiatives put forward at the second Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg in 2023.
"Participants in the conference are representatives of relevant government departments and services, medical professionals, epidemiologists, and microbiologists from 20 countries. They will certainly have an opportunity to exchange professional insights and their experience in preventing and combating outbreaks of infectious diseases. I believe that this joint work will yield tangible results and serve to protect the health of Africa’s population," Putin emphasized, wishing success to the event’s participants.