Russia to fight dangerous diseases

The Russian Government has approved a draft of a Federal programme targeting dangerous diseases, which have heavy social consequences. 76.4 billion roubles have been allocated for the programme.

More than half of the money will come from the federal budget with the rest coming from regional budgets and outside sources. It will be spent on fighting such diseases as tuberculosis, hepatitis, HIV and AIDS and improving preventive measures.

According to Minister of Health and Social Development, Mikhail Zurabov, Russia should not give work to migrants suffering from the targeted illnesses.

Meanwhile, recent surveys of the population show that the situation is far from being perfect.

'Last year we examined 7.6 million people who thought they were healthy. The results are sad.  We discovered 46 thousand cases of diabetes, 6500 thousand cases of cancer and 700 people with early stages of tuberculosis,' Zurabov explained.