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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends!

I am happy to offer my greetings to the participants in the 2^nd National Healthcare Congress and wish you successful and productive work.

You have gathered in Moscow, at VDNKh, where the Russia Exhibition and Forum is now taking place to present the achievements of our regions. It offers a glimpse of everything new and useful our manufacturers, researchers, educational, cultural and sports institutions have to offer, which includes, of course, healthcare as a key element that defines the quality of life for our people.

Your congress is devoted to developing healthcare, its present and future. It brings together healthcare executives from across the domestic healthcare sector, including chief doctors from various medical institutions, rectors from medical academies, heads of research institutions and laboratories, as well as federal and regional officials, for a total of over 1,000 participants from all 89 regions of Russia.

I am certain that this gathering of top-level professionals will pave the way to a meaningful and interesting dialogue that will yield tangible results and help us respond to the multiple challenges faced by our domestic and global healthcare systems. This includes expanding medical research, ensuring the digital transition, and introducing new effective treatments for dangerous diseases, as well as of course fighting communicable diseases.

I do hope that you will pay special attention to addressing healthcare staffing needs and improving the level and quality of medical education.

These and many other matters on your agenda are extremely important. After all, this deals with the people’s health and lives.

The state views efforts to improve healthcare as a priority. Of course, many issues have yet to be resolved here, but the Healthcare national project has already yielded results. For example, we have been building infrastructure and educating specialists for treating cardiovascular diseases, which enabled us to save stroke patients during the so-called golden hour, when treatments can have maximum efficiency and help avert severe damage. By creating a network of outpatient cancer clinics, most cancer patients in the regions, including in remote territories, can get the treatments they need where they live.

In recent years, we have created almost 2,000 rural health posts, dozens of cutting-edge children’s hospitals, and surgery departments. We have purchased the latest medical equipment and bought over 14,000 cars for doctors working at outpatient clinics.

We have been able to achieve good results by enabling the Government, the Ministry of Health, regional governments and every medical worker to work in a coordinated and responsible manner. It goes without saying that increasing life expectancy in Russia to a record-high of about 74 years is our single most important achievement.

Today, our healthcare sector is facing new objectives and plans in a changing operating environment, which is also true for our entire nation. This means that we must invest all our efforts, experience and knowledge in taking complex and timely decisions on the way this sector operates. But there is one thing that remains unchanged – the great mission doctors have to shoulder.

I would like to express my special gratitude to the doctors, paramedics and nurses who have been risking their lives to save and treat our fighters in the special military operation zone and frontline hospitals. Almost 4,000 courageous and dedicated people have been carrying out this task.

I would like to thank all the medical workers in Russia for their selfless work, for staying true to their vocation and noble profession that people need so much.

I wish the participants in the National Healthcare Congress every success.

I wish you all the best and, of course, good health.