OREANDA-NEWS. Dmitry Medvedev: Good afternoon. I’m pleased to see you. A year has passed since we have restored the Ministry of Healthcare as an independent department. I think this was the right decision. We supported the proposals of the medical community. On the whole, despite problems that exist in every department, the Ministry is doing a good job. At this meeting, we’ll sum up what has been done and determine our plans for the near future.

We all started working more actively when we began to carry out the national health project. Later on other important documents were adopted, including presidential executive orders, Government papers and a state programme. The goal remains the same – to make medicine modern and high quality and keep it accessible.

The resolution of these ambitious tasks will require serious organisational and financial planning. The past year was devoted to the drafting and adoption of strategically important programmes. The Government endorsed a state programme for the development of healthcare, a strategy for pharmaceutical supplies for the population to 2025 and a roadmap for an effective system of medical aid, including outpatient and hospital treatment and high-tech centres for the most complicated cases.