I. The State Should Bear Responsibility for the Health of its Citizens
II.40 Million Russians May Receive Humanitarian Assistance Through the Russian Red Cross
IV. "VOLGA DAYS 96" Gathers 300 Environmentalists of the Volga Region
V. The Volunteer Center "Moscow House of Charity" Forms Information Center
VI. Women at Risk
I. The State Should Bear Responsibility for the Health of its Citizens
In the opinion of the physicians, scholars, representatives of governmental entities and of society who gathered on October 23 at a round table titled "The Health of Society and the Future of Russia" organized by the club "Realists," the condition of Russians' health today is close to catastrophic. According to the data presented in his report by the deputy of the ministry of public health of the Russian Federation V. I. Starodubov, in recent times there has taken place in our country a worsening of a series of demographic indicators.
In 1995, in comparison with previous years the birth rate in the country was sharply reduced and stands at 9.3 per thousand. Thus, given a death rate of 17 percent the natural loss of population stood at 800-900,000 people out of a population of 148 million. The main causes of death are accidents, heart and vascular diseases, and cancer. In 1995 in Russia 672,000 people of working age died, and the trend toward reduction of the number of the active population and a lowering of the birth rate has strengthened over time. According to Mr. Starodubov, all of these processes are directly tied to the worsening of the socioeconomic situation and the lowering of the standard of living.
Doctors maintain that it is hardly possible to call the new generation healthy. At the present time in Moscow 50% of youth of military age are unfit for military duty, and only 15% of school graduates can be called healthy. This results not only from the low standard of living (half of the 4.5 million children aged up to 2 years do not receive adequate nutrition), but from the psychological conditions in which young Russians grow up. According to statistics from recent years, 675,000 of every 1,075,000 million marriages end in divorce. Drug abuse and alcoholism are wide spread among youth, and the number of sexually transmitted diseases and crimes is growing. There are 186 crimes annually per 10,000 inhabitants of Russia, but 242 crimes per 10,000 youth.
Representatives of social organizations (the Women's Environmental Association and others) believe that the state of Russians' health is also influenced by the extremely poor environmental conditions in the entire country. In most of the populated areas of Russia the quality of the drinking water, food products, and the air is very low. Of the territories that have been investigated, so far only Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Far North and the Nechernozem'e Region deal with matters of public health. The physicians who spoke at the round table characterize the condition of the public health system as "deplorable." At the same time Russians are practically deprived of the means of investigating prophylactic measures by the chronic under-financing of the field, which may lead to further deterioration in the health of the population.
From the point of view of those gathered [at the round table], only the state can provide real help in the solution of this and many other problems, and it should take responsibility for the health of its citizens. In this connection academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and member of the Pirogov Association of Medical Workers B. V. Petrovskii stated: " We must turn the attention of the government of our country to medicine, because if the leaders have nothing to say about medicine they do not respect their own people."
II. 40 Million Russians May Receive Humanitarian Assistance Through the Russian Red Cross
On October 22, the General Secretary of the International Red Cross Federation Mr. George Weber, in Moscow on a visit, met with representatives of the government, in particular, with Deputy Prime Minister V. Iliushin. The visit was made possible by the Order of Russian Federation President B. N. Yeltsin "On State Support for the Russian Red Cross."
Thanks to its unique relationship to the organs of state power, the Red Cross can be called neither and intergovernmental, a nongovernmental, nor a charitable organization whether on the international, state or local level. The status of the Russian Red Cross has so far been undetermined in Russian legislation. At the present time a draft law "On the Russian Red Cross", which would regulate the relations between the government and the Russian Red Cross, is being considered in the State Duma.
The Presidential order was an important step toward determining the legal status of the Russian Red Cross. In addition, the order provides a guaranty of payment of the RRC's obligation for dues to the International Red Cross Federation (which for the years 1994-1996 stood at 2,059,007 Swiss francs). The President's order and a decree of the government of the Russian Federation provide for including the means necessary to pay the yearly dues of the International Red Cross Federation beginning in 1997 in the federal budget.
In his presentation at a press conference Mr. Weber stated: "My visit should remind the international community that the Russian Red Cross is an important channel for providing humanitarian assistance to 40 million of the more socially vulnerable residents of this country. Today it is particularly important for the economic and political problems of Russia not to forget or mask over her humanitarian needs."
Contact telephone of the Central Committee of the RRC: 126-5731
III. A Meeting of Russian and American Volunteers Took Place October 27 at the Russian Information Agency "Novosti"
The meeting, which was organized by the volunteer center "Moscow House of Charity" together with the organization "People to People" from the USA was part of a visit of an American delegation in Moscow which began on October 26. Volunteers from Moscow and their colleagues from abroad discussed questions of the development of civil initiatives and strengthening the position of the third sector in Russia.
The organization People to People was created in the US in 1956 at the initiative of President Dwight Eisenhower, who became the first chairman of its board. In creating the new charitable volunteer organization, Mr. Eisenhower said that private persons who desire friendship with the peoples of other countries can make a substantial contribution to the cause of peace.
After Eisenhower, heading the board of People to People became a presidential tradition. Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Bush have held this post. President Clinton now heads the organization. Obviously, the presence of such names among the participants of the organization raises it considerably in the eyes of society and gives volunteerism a governmental character.
Visits to Russia by American volunteers were made possible thanks to the new political situation in our country, and the Moscow House of Charity, headed by Galina Bodrenkova has been one of the active organizers of such visits. Thanks to MHC more than 200 American specialists from People to People have participated in Russo-American projects and meetings with Russian volunteers.
In the words of the head of the delegation, the basic goal of the current visit is to meet with representatives of different social strata of the population of Moscow. Members of the delegation are prepared to share their work experience and knowledge with any volunteers, whether they are deputies in parliament or workers, directors of schools or artists. In addition, members of the delegation believe such meetings are useful to them personally, as they provide greater familiarity with the culture and history of Russia and better understanding of the present and future of the young Russian democracy.
For their part, the representatives of MHC are prepared to do all they can to provide the American volunteers with as much opportunity as possible for contact with their Russian colleagues.
Contact telephone: 191-1473. Fax: 291-3041
IV. "VOLGA DAYS 96" Gathers 300 Environmentalists of the Volga Region
The annual conference of environmentalists "Volga Days 96" held October 24-25 in Nizhnii Novgorod was better attended than ever. Representatives of more than 90 social and governmental environmental organizations of the Volga region and other regions of Russia and Europe met in the auditorium of the Construction Academy. Nizhnii Novgorod governor Boris Nemtsov sent his greetings to the conference participants.
Elena Kolpakova, the coordinator of the program "We Help the River" from Nizhnii Novgorod and one of the chief organizers of the meeting remarked in her greeting to the participants: "Our annual conference was grown from an event of nongovernmental organizations only into a Volga environmental forum. We must move even further from the opposition of science and the state, of noncommercial organizations and the state."
Representatives of the environmental center "Front," of the state program "Volga Renaissance" (Nizhnii Novgorod), the Russian branch of Greenpeace, the Bavarian Green Party (Germany), the agency ISAR and other organizations, for whom the fate of the main water arterial of Russia and the ecology of the planet as a whole are matters of concern, made presentations at the conference.
During the course of the conference an environmental protest occurred on October 25 in the form of the delivery to the director of the state farm "Russia" (Kstov region) of photographs of an enormous dump with signatures on a letter demanding the liquidation of this dump.
At a press conference devoted to Volga Days, where, to the considerable regret of the organizers there were few reporters, it was noted that today environmental organizations, especially those recently created, face problems of developing cooperation, exchanging experience and information, and coordinating forces. The recently created Volga Environmental Information Agency in Nizhnii Novgorod will help solve these problems.
V. The Volunteer Center "Moscow House of Charity" Forms Information Center
The information center "Moscow Help Line," the goal of which, according to its organizers, is to "connect people in need of assistance with volunteers and organizations who can provide this assistance through a general dissemination of information," plans to begin its work in 1997. Its work will be built on close cooperation between volunteers and organizations that provide social services to the population.
The program is supported by USAID and the social protection committee of the government of Moscow. The work of the Moscow help line will take into account the three years of experience of the activity of the center "Information and Assistance," which existed earlier at the Moscow House of Charity.
The Moscow House of Charity invites the cooperation of interested organizations and persons.
Contact telephone: 291-3041
VI. Women at Risk
A consultation center for women who are victims of domestic violence opened in St. Petersburg in May of this year. Most often the workers at the center run into such problems as alcoholism and the relationship between generations. The most common cause of conflicts is a shortage of living space.
Two lawyers and two psychologists provide women in need with free consultation and, if necessary, therapy. Four social workers help them with administrative and legal matters.
"Women at Risk" is the first and only crisis center. Since its opening 600 women have already found help and support there. The center's services are free, and the small amount contributed by the city budget hardly covers the cost. All the rest [of the money] comes from private contributions. There is a shortage of the most basic things--blankets and pillows, sterile utensils�. For this reason, the center which was supposed to house 30 people now can give shelter to only 8 women.
The staff of the center will appreciate any help�.
Contact telephone: (095) 293-0673 (Iulia Nikiforova, coordinator.)
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