Mstislav Rostropovich Honored for His Foundation's Efforts in Vaccinating 2 Million Russian Children and Health Care Workers

Mstislav Rostropovich Honored for His Foundation's Efforts in Vaccinating 2 Million Russian Children and Health Care Workers

YAROSLAVL, Russia, May 10 /PRNewswire/ -- World renowned musician, humanitarian, and outspoken defender of human rights, Mstislav Rostropovich will be honored at a ceremony in Yaroslavl on May 16, 2006 marking the completion of a nationwide vaccination program focused on protecting young people against hepatitis B.

The Vishnevskaya-Rostropovich Foundation (VRF) initiated the vaccination program for adolescents and institutionalized orphans in 1999. As of May 1, 2006 more than 1.8 million children and nearly 100,000 at-risk health care workers in 22 administrative regions from Kaliningrad in the West to Vladivostok in the Russian Far East have been protected against the disease. All vaccinations were administered by Russian health care workers.

The recent announcement by the Russian Ministry of Health and Social Development that it will assume full financial responsibility for vaccinating all 13-year-olds against hepatitis B throughout Russia is seen as a mark of the success of the VRF program, as the promotion of sustainability has been a stated goal of the foundation from the outset.

The VRF vaccination initiative was funded by both public and private sector donors, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the energy corporation BP, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the US of Agency for International Development (USAID), and the government of Norway.

Maestro Rostropovich and his wife Galina Vishnevskaya, internationally recognized as one of the world's great sopranos, founded the VRF in 1991. The foundation's mission is to improve children's health care in the Russian Federation and other countries in the region.

Working in collaboration with the national Ministry of Health and Social Development and local health officials, the VRF has supplied the country with highly effective and safe vaccines made by some of the world's best pharmaceutical companies. Over a six-year period, the foundation supplied more than 6 million doses of the hepatitis B vaccine. Committed to helping build the nation's health care capacity, the foundation has also worked to strengthen the "cold chain" infrastructure by providing thousands of refrigerators and vaccine carriers to the 22 administrative regions included in the program. In addition, cold chambers for central storage were provided to Irkutsk, Komi, and the Primorsky Kray.

The foundation's program owes its success to a collaborative approach that included local health authorities, the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation and the Federal Service on Surveillance of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being. The incidence rates of hepatitis B amongst the populations covered by the program have been reduced by 62%. The VRF initiative is seen as a model of a sustainable public health program.

As the 200th anniversary of Russian - U.S. relations nears in 2007, the Vishnevskaya-Rostropovich Foundation continues its commitment to the health and future of children in Russia. Maestro Rostropovich sees HIV/AIDS as a grave threat to the future of Russian children and the Russian government has indicated HIV/AIDS as a priority. As such, Maestro Rostropovich, who last month accepted an appointment as UNAIDS Special Representative, has directed the foundation to explore ways it can most effectively contribute to the campaign against the scourge of HIV/AIDS in Russia.

[Agenda follows]

Vishnevskaya-Rostropovich Foundation

Ceremony Marking the Completion of the
VRF Children's Vaccination Initiative in the Russian Federation

City of Yaroslavl, May 16, 2006

AGENDA

10:00 am - 10:30 am Meeting with:
Mr. Anatoly I. Lisitsyn, Governor of the Yaroslavl
Oblast
Mrs. Irina I. Skorokhodova, First Deputy Governor
Dr. Gennady Onischenko, State Chief Sanitary
Physician

Regional Administration Building
3 Sovetskaya Square, Yaroslavl

10:40 am Departure of the delegation to Children's
Policlinic No. 5)

11:00 am - 11:30 am Children's vaccination
Children's Policlinic No. 5
16 ul. Mashinostroiteley
(PRESS INVITED)

11:40 am Departure of the delegation to City High School
No. 48

12:00 pm - 12:30 pm Visit City High School No. 48
10A ul. Papanina
(PRESS INVITED)

12:45 pm Departure of the delegation to Governor's House
Museum

1:00 pm - 1:45 pm PRESS CONFERENCE
Governor's House Museum
23 Volzhskaya nab

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm City Tour

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Lunch
Svyato-Vvedensky Tolgsky Convent

5:30 pm Departure of the delegation from Yaroslavl

Source: Vishnevskaya-Rostropovich Foundation

CONTACT: Mrs. Katya Nagorskaya, Administrator in Russia of the
Vishnevskaya-Rostropovich Foundation, St. Petersburg, +7-812-579-60-25,
fvr@m.astelit.ru; or Guy Wulfing, Communications Director of the Vishnevskaya-
Rostropovich Foundation, Washington, D.C., +1-631-338-1891,
gwulfing@rostropovich.org

Web site: http://www.rostropovich.org/

-------
Profile: intent