ILO
International Labor Organisation

Russia’s Occupational Safety Programme to Year 2000

The Russian Federation has approved a Federal Programme on the Improvement of Occupational Safety for 1998 - 2000. The ambitious programme includes issues related to legislation, accidents and working conditions, information and monitoring, and economic incentives.

Information and training is of extreme importance for the practical improvement of working conditions at the work place. Through two projects, the ILO and Denmark support Russia and the Russian speaking community in developing and expanding the occupational safety and health (OSH) network of information centres and in training their staff.

Four Russian specialist centres have started the implementation of these two ILO/DANIDA projects. They will produce, compile and make available more Russian language OSH information, which is urgently needed in the present transition period. The dissemination will be improved through extension of the electronic network and improved information flow between the existing Russian speaking OSH information centres. Training will be organized to enhance the work of the information centre staff.

The ILO has finished an enormous task in 1998: the 4th totally revised version of the ILO OSH Encyclopaedia. The task has taken over four years and all major OSH specialist institutions have participated. This Encyclopaedia will be translated into Russian, starting from Part II. The translation will be available on the Russian home page: http://user.nevalink.ru/umcot/ as soon as they are ready.

The ILO Moscow Multidisciplinary Team works together with many other Russian speaking countries to pool resources and make results available for the whole Russian speaking community using the latest information technology.

Wiking Husberg,
Senior Consultant to ILO for OSH

 

WHO_news_logo.jpg (3483 bytes) WHO
World Health Organization

New Initiative for TB Control in Russia
The first meeting of the High Level Working Group (HLWG) established between WHO and the Ministry of Health of the RF was held on August 6, 1999 at the Ministry of Health.

The first meeting of the High Level Working GroupThe WHO was represented by Dr. Agata Kochi, Director of Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control, HQ/Geneva; Dr. Serguei Litvinov, Director of Department of Infectious Diseases, EURO/Copenhagen, Dr. Mikko Vienonen, Special Representative of the Director-General in Moscow. Dr. A. I. Vialkov, Deputy Minister who was also the chairman at the meeting, headed the Ministry of Health delegation.

One of the main objectives of the HLWG is to establish a mechanism for effective cooperation between WHO and RF specialists on the policy and strategy development for tuberculosis control in Russia. The thematic discussions will be held by the expert technical pool consisting of Russian and foreign TB experts who will review the following topics: current epidemiological situation of tuberculosis and legislation related to TB control in RF; management of tuberculosis, specific areas such as TB in prisons, drug resistance, training and health education, etc. It is also expected that the HLWG will work out a plan for the implementation of the World Bank TB loan at its second meeting to be held in early October, 1999. The first technical meeting on the subject of TB case definitions, recording and reporting system was held on August 26, 1999.
  For your UN file:

International Days 

  • 8 September – International Literacy Day
  • 16 September – Intrernational Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
  • 3rd Tuesday of September – International Day of Peace
  • Last week of September – World Maritime Day
  • 1st October – International Day of Older Persons
  • 1st Monday of October – World Habitat Day
  • 2nd Wednesday of October – International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
  • 9 October – World Post Day
  • 16 October – World Food Day
  • 17 October – International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
  • 24 October – United Nations Day
  • 24-30 October – Disarmament Week
  
   

Some Facts on Access to Drugs in Russia

  • Lack of cash in the budget leads to delayed payments, lower availability and to higher prices.
  • Less drugs for free in hospitals, less drugs in the reimbursement system: More direct payments from patients.
  • Poverty levels increase, many employees not paid for months:Less people can afford to pay for drugs.
  • 80% of pharmaceuticals are paid by patients out of pocket.
  • In some regions 75% of the population is entitled to free drugs, but the funds are not available.
  • Large variations in drug budgets per capita per region
  • Before the crisis: 50-70% of the families did not buy necessary drugs because they were too expensive.
  • Federal essential drug list started from above 900 items, ended with 364 items in 1998, after crisis it is being reduced to 200.
  

 

WHO_news_logo.jpg (3483 bytes) WHO
World Health Organization

WHO Assistance to TB Control in Russia

The TB situation in Russia is rapidly worsening. Both in terms of rates and in absolute figures cases notification more than doubled from 1991 to 1997 when 121,491 new cases and relapses of TB were notified (constituting a rate of 82.3 per 100,000 population). Additionally, TB rates in Russian prisons are increasing, serving as a continuing source of infection to civilian populations. Of further concern is a high percentage of patients, who have multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) resulting from the lack of anti-TB drugs and the application of non-standardized and sub-optimal therapy (often monotherapy).

WHO initiated assistance to TB control in the Russian Federation in October 1995 responding to the request of the Ministry of Health and Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and started the implementation of the first pilot project, introducing WHO recommended strategy to TB control (DOTS) in the Ivanovo Region. Since 1995 WHO has been providing training to Russian specialists in modern aspects of TB control and support of the participation of Russian TB experts in the international TB meetings. From 1995 to 1999, in collaboration with several donors and NGOs, DOTS strategy was expanded to the civilian population in the Region of Tomsk, Leningrad, Murmansk and Archangelsk, and the republics of Mari El and Karelia. DOTS projects were also established in prisons of Tomsk, Ivanovo, Mari El, Kemerovo, Vladimir and Nizhni Novgorod. In addition, new pilot projects field testing new approaches to address multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (DOTS Plus) are under preparation in Ivanovo and Tomsk.

The World Health Organization established the Office of the Special Representative of the Director-General (SRDG) in Moscow and based on the WHO Office in Moscow a WHO TB Coordinator – Dr. Wieslaw Jakubowiak started his assignment on May 24, 1999 with the objective to act as a public health advisor and coordinator to the SRDG with special emphasis on TB. Particular responsibilities of TB Coordinator enlist the following activities:

  • Initiation of work and provision of support to the interdisciplinary working group on TB control established between the MOH and WHO, and other partners;
  • Collaboration with the World Bank to prepare the loan for TB project in Russia;
  • Review of already existing DOTS pilot projects, analysis of the results achieved, identification of main constraints and planning next steps for scaling up the projects and introduction of DOTS Plus in the Russian Federation;
  • Coordination with non-governmental, international, bilateral and multilateral donors organizations currently working in the Russian Federation in order to raise resources and unify approaches related to TB control in each region.

The plans for 1999 include preparation and implementation of DOTS in three areas: Vladimir, Oryel and Novgorod Region.
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UN: FACTS AND FIGURES

  • Eighty per cent of the work of the UN system is devoted to helping developing countries build the capacity to help themselves. This includes promoting and protecting democracy and human rights; saving children from starvation and disease; providing relief assistance to refugees and disaster victims; countering global crime, drugs and disease; and assisting countries devastated by war and the long-term threat of land-mines.
  • The total cost of all UN peacekeeping operations in 1997 was some $1.3 billion – the equivalent of less than 0.2 per cent of global military spending.
  • Member States share the risks of maintaining peace and security. Since 1948, over 1,580 UN peace-keepers from some 85 countries have died in the line of duty.
  • The UN system has devoted more attention and resources to the promotion of the development of human skills and potentials than any other external assistance effort. The system’s annual disbursements, including loans and grants, amount to more than $10 billion. The UN Development Programme (UNDP), in close cooperation with over 170 Member States and other UN agencies, designs and implements projects for agriculture, industry, education, and the environment. It supports more than 5,000 projects with a budget of $ 1.3 billion. It is the largest multilateral source of grant development assistance. The World Bank, at the forefront in mobilizing support for developing countries worldwide, has alone loaned $333 billion for development projects since 1946. In addition, UNICEF spends more than $800 million a year, primarily on immunization, health care, nutrition and basic education in 138 countries.
  • As of early spring of 1999, Member States owe the United Nations over $2.9 billion for current and past assessments – $1.7 billion for peacekeeping, nearly $1.1 billion for the regular UN budget, and $148 million for international tribunals. The largest debtor, the United States, owes the UN $1.69 billion for past and current assessments, two-thirds of the total due. This debt includes $620 million for the regular budget and $1.07 billion for peacekeeping and international tribunals.
  

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