MOSCOW, July 3, (RIA Novosti) - Russia's government has proposed setting up a federal agency to provide of state-of-the-art medical assistance, the health minister said Monday at meeting with the president.
Public health is one of Russia's four national priority programs. Putin called the decline in Russia's population - which he said was falling by 700,000 people a year - the country's biggest problem in his address earlier this month, setting out an array of measures to boost births and provide better financial and medical support to women and children.
Mikhail Zurabov said 14 cutting-edge medical centers, as well as maternity facilities, would be opened within the next two years.
He said the new agency could provide assistance in conducting complex medical operations, making them more accessible to the public.
