Governor of Chelyabinsk Region Petr Sumin set up a special committee that will be responsible for fighting socially important illnesses. This committee will mainly keep an eye on the proper implementation of the federal project on preventing and fighting socially important illnesses in 2007-2011. This work team includes First Deputy Governor Andrei Kosilov, Chelyabinsk Region Health Minister Viktor Shepelev, head doctor of Chelyabinsk cancer clinic Andrei Vazhenin, Head of Chair of Therapy, Functional Diagnostics, Preventive Medicine, and Family Practice of Ural State Medical Academy for Additional Education and Chelyabinsk Region’s chief freelance cardiologist Emilia Volkova, and Head of the regional Health Ministry’s Disease Prevention Department Alexei Korolev. The committee is now expected to make some improvements to the regional project on preventing and fighting socially important illnesses in 2005-2008, the spokesperson for the Governor reports.

As for the federal project on preventing and fighting socially important illnesses in 2007-2011, it was adopted in November 2006 and was aimed at having fewer people diagnosed with, becoming disabled or dying as a result of socially important diseases such as pancreatic diabetes, tuberculosis, HIV, cancer, viral hepatitis, mental disorders, and hypertension. The project also provided for some measures targeted at expanding such patients’ life longevity and improving on the quality of their lives. The steps that are being taken now are believed to result in better preventive practices, early diagnostics, and more efficient treatment and rehabilitation of patients.