VZCZCXYZ0016
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMO #1037 0711514
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 121514Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8152
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS MOSCOW 001037 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SOCI ECON TBIO RS
SUBJECT: MESSAGE DELIVERD ON GLOBAL SUMMIT ON AGING 
 
REF:  STATE 29783 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1. (SBU) We shared REFTEL information regarding the upcoming Global 
Summit on Aging with officials from the MFA's International 
Organizations Department and the Human Rights Department, the 
Ministry of Health and Social Development's International Relations 
Department (MOHSD), and the WHO's Moscow Office.  The MFA and MOHSD 
have not yet offered any substantive comment (relevant health 
officials are all currently attending international health 
conferences in Germany and Belarus).  The WHO's Moscow Office 
expressed general interest in the meeting and noted that this is an 
important issue for Europe. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The issue of aging would be of general interest to Russian 
officials from the broader perspective of the country's demographic 
crisis.  Facing a net population loss of 560,000-740,000 persons per 
year (based on 2005 and 2006 statistics), the Russian Government has 
made it a national priority to improve the country's demographic 
situation.  Russia does not yet face some of the most acute issues 
associated with the rapid growth in the "oldest old" population, 
because the average life expectancy in Russia is about 10-12 years 
lower than in the United States and Western Europe.  The country 
does face trends similar to Western Europe in terms of a low 
fertility rate and a declining working age population, whose 
earnings must support an increasing number of retirees and 
pensioners. 
 
BURNS