Facts and Figures

v In 1996, Russia’s Health care system counted 650,000 doctors and more than 1,5 mn nurses and sisters. Russia’s health care system is comprised of 12,000 health care institutions with a capacity of 1.8 mn beds, plus 22,000 polyclinics.

w The death rate from infectious and parasitic diseases grew almost two-fold from 1991 to 1996. Venereal diseases are on the rise. Russia has 376,000 patients registered with syphilis and 197,000 with gonorrhea.

z Almost half of Russia’s population drinks water whose quality is below state standards. This leads to repeated outbreaks of dysentery and hepatitis.

m Over 5 mn men and more than 2 mn women work in conditions that do not meet state sanitary and hygiene norms.

q Russia appears on the World Health Organization’s list of 13 countries responsible for 75% of the world’s tuberculosis cases. According to the Russian Ministry of Health, the death rate from tuberculosis grew by 87% in Russia during the last five years.

t Russian Health Minister Tatyana Dmitrieva has stated that Russia’s production of vaccines and serums — the country’s only protection from infectious diseases — is at a standstill. The government owes vaccine and serum producers R100 bn ($40 mn).

u Russian First Deputy Minister of Health and the Medical Industry Alexei Moskvichev admitted that «today the situation is such that it is impossible to fully respect the constitutional right of citizens to free health care.» The Law on the Federal Budget for 1996 provided for the allocation of R5.75 trillion to the country’s health needs. In fact, only 48.2% of this sum (R2.77 trillion) was financed from the state budget.

; According to a survey of the World Health Organization, life expectancy in Russia has plunged to its lowest level in 15 years. The average Russian male can now expect to live 57.4 years (vs. 73 years in Western Europe). This is compared to 61.1 years in 1981, and nearly 64 years in 1991. The average life expectancy for Russian women is 71.2 years, dramatically less than the 79 years for American women.

l According to the Russian State Committee on Statistics, the country’s population shrank by 475,000 people or 0.3% in 1996, the sharpest drop in five years. According to the Population Reference Service, a US non-profit demographic research firm, Russia’s population is expected to drop during the next 33 years to 123 mn, from the current 147 mn.