With Sanctions, Russia Faces a Healthcare Catastrophe, Medical Experts Say

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Mar. 4 – One of the sectors that is already being hit hard by sanctions is healthcare because Russia is reliant on foreign producers for medical equipment, medicines and components needed to produce both at home and because Moscow has as yet not been willing to invest in this sector but has been cutting back, Russian medical experts say.

            Anzhela Novoseltseva of the Rosbalt news agency spoke with four of them. They are unanimous that the plight of Russians who become ill is going to constitute “a humanitarian catastrophe” because prices are going to rise on many things and many others won’t be available at all (rosbalt.ru/piter/2022/03/04/1947140.html).

            Andrey Isayev, head of the DNKOM molecular genetic research center, says that 90 percent of diagnostic equipment in Russia in his area comes from abroad but that this is true not only for his laboratory. And it involves simple things as well: Russia doesn’t now even produce needles.

            Russian surrogates where they do exist are not as accurate or effective, he continues; and while people in rural areas may not notice the difference, those in urban centers and their doctors are already very aware that the Russian substitutes aren’t that good and mean that they aren’t getting the treatment they need.

            Vladimir Akhutin, head of the Allegro clinics, says that dental care in Russia today is in a catastrophic state because almost everything the sector needs comes from abroad. If things continue, dentists will be able to extract teeth and fill cavities but not do any of the other things modern dentistry allows. And prices are going to become prohibitive at the same time.

            Fyodor Moiseyenko, a St. Petersburg oncologist, says that Russians may not notice the shortages for a month or two. There are enough medications in reserve. But after that, there won’t be any new supplies; and Russians suffering from cancer won’t be able to get the therapies and drugs they need in many cases to stay alive.

            And Lev Averbakh, a doctor who works in emergency medicine in the northern capital, says that the West has yet to impose all the sanctions in this area that it is likely to and when that does occur, Russia will face “a humanitarian disaster,” one all the worse because it comes on the heels of the coronavirus pandemic.

            Correcting this by domestic production not only will require an enormous amount of time but also a government committed to the health of its people. Neither is available in Putin's Russia today.