Location: Russian Federation - Great North and Siberia

Situation:

The Russian Federation continues its economic development. But the number of people left behind is huge. In Moscow, migrant workers have very limited access to healthcare. Much the same as the 225,000  indigenous peoples of the Great North who suffer as a result of  geographical isolation and meager financial support from the regional authorities. MdM supports a programme of community health designed for the indigenous people, and medical care adapted for migrants in  Moscow.

Activities:

As the training of health agents continues, Doctors of the World (DOW) looks to extend its programme to new regions, notably those of Amour and Yakutsk. Two regions have already taken over the activities, officially recognising the profession of Health Agents (HA). In 2009, an awareness campaign  linked to the excessive consumption of alcohol was also set up. Some French doctors were able to organise an initial training in Yakutsk, using an early identification method and the involvement of the HA in their communities. Finally, DOW works towards helping and supporting a  Russian NGO, the Community Health Partnership, which co-ordinates the network of different participants within the project that has been getting together for working groups every six months since 2008.
As a result of the project 20 new health agents were trained and 11 health personnel benefited from training on alcohol.

Outlook:

The takeover of the project by the NGO Community Health  Partnership, with support from DOW, will be made official with a partnership agreement between the two NGOs. The priorities for  2010 are the training of health agents and the prevention of alcoholism and tuberculosis.