WORLD COUNCIL OF HELLENES ABROAD (SAE/ÓÁÅ) - Projects and Initiatives

	NEWS BRIEFS
	ALBANIA
	ARMENIA
	GEORGIA
	KAZAKHSTAN
	SOUTHERN RUSSIA
	UKRAINE
	UZBEKISTAN

TRADE

MICRO-ENTERPRISE

THE NATIONAL FUND

(ETO)

ADOPT-A-CHURCH

PRIMARY HEALTH CARE INITIATIVE:
SOUTHERN RUSSIA

ENLARGE MAP

Country Background
The Russian Federation is the world's largest country. Living environments vary from compact industrial regions with established social infrastructures to sparsely populated areas with both rural and agricultural settings.

Air pollution from heavy industry, emissions from coal-fired electric plants and transportation in major cities, ground water contamination, soil erosion resulting in contamination in scattered areas, and intense radioactive contamination have created many ecological problems for Russia.

Russia is a country of great ethnic and cultural diversity. The Hellenic population is approximately 200,000 with the majority living in Stavropol Krai and Kransnodarsky Krai. An additional 6,000 - 8,000 Hellenes live in small villages in North Osetian, Adygey, and Khanty-Mansi. The number of Hellenes living in urban versus rural, remote areas is almost equally divided.

Health Care Needs
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in adults. Cancer is the second leading cause of death and men are twice as likely to get cancer than women are. Overall, men at comparable ages were five times as likely to die from cardiovascular disease, six times as likely to die from respiratory diseases, and five times as likely to die from trauma and poisoning.
Maternal and infant mortality rates are exceptionally high. HIV/AIDS and syphilis are on the rise. Approximately three million people in Russia are infected with tuberculosis.

The Russian Government has been forced to curtail or eliminate many state funded health care centers. The Russian Ministry of Health has also tried to consolidate services in heavily populated areas while reducing the number of programs in rural and remote regions. This has created a situation where health care services are disproportional to the needs of the population.

SAE'S Project
With the majority of Hellenes living in southern Russia, primarily in the towns and villages surrounding Stavropol, SAE has determined that this would be the best location to begin its program. SAE's plan is to establish one large clinic with a medical mobile unit and Primary Care Rural Nurses' Program to serve the poor and elderly living in rural, remote villages.

At this time SAE has not been able to establish its program in Russia due to the ongoing turmoil in Chechnya, which is near Stavropol. Conflict in the area continues to exist, making it difficult to send humanitarian aid workers to canvass the region for suitable sites.

SAE has been exploring the possibility of coordinating its efforts with the Hellenic Federation of Russia and the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), which has a base of operations in Moscow, Russia.

Help SAE expand the PHCI in Southern Russia