VZCZCXRO6189
PP RUEHAST RUEHDBU RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHSK
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DE RUEHMO #2978/01 3431609
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091609Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5621
INFO RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 3414
RUEHYG/AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG 3766
RUEHLN/AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 5542
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHDC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MOSCOW 002978 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/RUS, EUR/PGI, OES/PCI, OES/IHB 
OES/FO FOR CARTER-FOSTER 
USAID FOR GH, E&E 
HHS FOR OGHA 
HHS PLEASE PASS TO NIH AND FDA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO PREL EAID SOCI KHIV TSPL RS
 
SUBJECT: RUSSIAN HEALTH MINISTRY AND USG COUNTERPARTS REFINE 
PRIORITIES FOR HEALTH COOPERATION 
 
REF: MOSCOW 1181 (NOTAL) 
 
MOSCOW 00002978  001.4 OF 003 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Russia's Deputy Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova 
expressed strong interest in broadened cooperation with the United 
States through the Bilateral Presidential Commission and related 
health agreements in meetings with officials of the National 
Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC), and other USG counterparts in November and 
December.  Russia's top priorities are to tackle cardiovascular 
disease, cancer, and external causes of death (including trauma), 
the three main drivers of Russia's high early mortality rates. 
Skvortsova told CDC she is willing to support exchanges of health 
professionals.  She is especially interested in exchanges focused on 
international best practices in alcohol and tobacco regulation, 
cancer prevention, telemedicine and rural health care, and training 
of young scientists in clinical research.  Identifying areas of 
collaboration is relatively easy; overcoming persistent barriers to 
cooperation -- including taxation of science grants, customs issues, 
and visa difficulties -- will be a major challenge.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) Before Presidents Obama and Medvedev announced their 
Bilateral Presidential Commission in July, Russia's Ministry of 
Health and Social Development (MOHSD) showed early interest in 
revitalizing cooperation with the United States on public health and 
medical science (reftel).  On July 6, the first day of the 
presidents' Moscow summit meeting, Deputy Minister Veronika 
Skvortsova and Ambassador Beyrle signed a Memorandum of 
Understanding (MOU) outlining shared areas of interest in health 
cooperation: infectious and non-infectious diseases, promotion of 
healthy lifestyles, maternal and child health, and global health. 
Following the summit, MOHSD proposed a draft list of action items to 
implement the MOU.  On November 30, NIH signed a Statement of Intent 
on scientific cooperation with the Russian Academy of Medical 
Sciences.  In a November 20 meeting with CDC's Acting Deputy 
Director and in a December 1 meeting with NIH officials, Deputy 
Minister Skvortsova discussed areas of shared interest and joint 
activities that could be undertaken in the near term to create a 
record of early accomplishments for the Presidential Commission's 
Health Working Group. 
 
PREVENTING CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND CANCER 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) On November 20, on the margins of the first Global 
Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, Skvortsova told CDC's Acting 
Deputy Director Dr. Ileana Arias that MOHSD's top priorities are 
addressing cardiovascular disease and cancer.  (Note: These are 
Russia's two leading causes of death, having caused 57 and 14 
percent, respectively, of all deaths in 2008.  End note.) 
Skvortsova said that Russia is mounting a major program of cancer 
prevention focused on high-risk groups.  She said that her ministry 
is also interested in studying international best practices in 
regulation of tobacco and alcohol.  (Note: Leading Russian health 
experts attribute 22 and 17 percent of all the country's deaths, 
respectively, to the effects of alcohol and tobacco use.  End 
note.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) Skvortsova responded positively to Dr. Arias' suggestion 
that CDC and MOHSD arrange a series of visits by Russian physicians 
and researchers to the United States lasting from one month to one 
year or longer.  Skvortsova said that MOHSD would be glad to host 
U.S. visitors as part of such a program.  Skvortsova also said that 
the Russian government is cooperating with NGOs to reduce tobacco 
use and alcohol consumption, and she showed strong interest in Dr. 
Arias' description of wellness programs within the U.S. economic 
stimulus package. 
 
IMPROVING ROAD SAFETY AND TRAUMA CARE 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Joe Toole, Associate Administrator for Safety at the 
 
MOSCOW 00002978  002.4 OF 003 
 
 
Federal Highway Administration, attended the meeting between Dr. 
Arias and Deputy Minister Skvortsova, organized at the request of 
DOS Sr. Health Advisor Nancy Carter-Foster, chair of the Interagency 
Global Road Safety Roundtable.  He commented on the need for road 
traffic authorities and health agencies to coordinate their efforts 
to improve road safety.  (NOTE: "External causes," which include 
traffic accidents and other forms of trauma, are Russia's third 
leading cause of death.  END NOTE.)  He suggested that highway and 
health authorities can cooperate to reduce traffic deaths by 
identifying factors that contribute to road accidents, which can 
often be remedied through simple and inexpensive fixes, such as 
placing signage or trimming plant growth. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Skvortsova agreed with the need for interagency 
coordination.  She said that Russia's vast, sparsely populated areas 
and poorly developed road infrastructure contribute to a serious 
problem of trauma and death from highway accidents.  She explained 
that Russia is working to develop a system of telemedicine that 
would allow physicians in Moscow and regional centers to diagnose 
and recommend treatment for patients in remote locations through 
transmission of medical data and images.  This project is part of a 
broader effort within the Russian health care system, active since 
2008, to improve and restructure cardiovascular care by creating a 
network of regional centers.  In addition, Sergey Goncharov, 
director of the MOHSD emergency medicine center "Zashchita" 
(Defense), expressed interest in sharing information on training, 
equipment, and techniques used in U.S. trauma care and emergency 
response. 
 
¶7. (U) Skvortsova and Arias agreed that their agencies would 
exchange written statements on their top priorities for cooperation 
and would suggest specific activities.  Subsequent meetings would 
also include the Ministries of Interior and Transport, the other 
major agencies involved in road safety. 
 
BRINGING RESEARCHERS TOGETHER 
----------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) In their December 1 meeting with Deputy Minister 
Skvortsova, Dr. Roger Glass, NIH's Associate Director for 
International Research and Director of the Fogarty International 
Center, and Dr. John Gallin, Director of NIH's Clinical Center, 
asked Skvortsova to consider ways of reducing barriers to 
cooperation.  Specifically, Glass cited Russia's taxation of NIH 
grants and bureaucratic difficulties with exchanging people and 
scientific materials such as reagents.  NIH funding for research in 
Russia increased from $4.2 million in fiscal year 2005 to over $10 
million in fiscal 2008, but given Russia's size and large scientific 
community, Dr. Glass said, cooperation should be far more active. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Glass told Skvortsova that NIH is interested in joint work 
on cancer and tuberculosis research, training of young scientists in 
principles of clinical research, and convening a health sciences 
forum under the Statement of Intent signed with the Russian Academy 
of Medical Sciences on November 30.  He told Skvortsova that HHS 
Assistant Secretary Howard Koh plans to visit Moscow in spring 2010 
to discuss the health sciences forum and future steps. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Skvortsova said that MOHSD's priority interests include 
basic research and its applications to clinical research.  She 
expressed great interest in NIH's course on the principles and 
practice of clinical research and assured Drs. Glass and Gallin that 
her staff would study the course materials thoroughly.  (COMMENT: 
Dr. Gallin was impressed with the opportunities to partner with 
Russian colleagues in bringing the course to Russia and will be 
pursuing collaborations.  END COMMENT.)  Skvortsova also asked for 
further information on NIH's research grants, saying that she wanted 
to ensure "symmetrical" funding of joint projects from Russian 
agencies. 
 
¶11. (SBU) COMMENT: Dr. Skvortsova is Russia's highest ranking 
policymaker focused exclusively on public health, and her portfolio 
is an immense burden for a single official.  As a medical 
 
MOSCOW 00002978  003.4 OF 003 
 
 
researcher, her area of expertise is neurology and the study of 
strokes; this interest influences her policy focus.  Her scientific 
background may also make her sympathetic to USG proposals to remove 
bureaucratic and political obstacles that prevent scientists from 
collaborating.  This effort is likely to be among the more daunting 
tasks on the bilateral health agenda, as it will require cooperation 
by the Finance Ministry (in the case of grant taxation) as well as 
other agencies.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶12. (U) NIH/Fogarty International Center Director Roger Glass, CDC 
Acting Deputy Director Ileana Arias, and State Department/OES Senior 
Advisor Nancy Carter-Foster cleared this cable. 
 
BEYRLE