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 |  | | | | About the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation | | | The Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation (RVF) is a non-political, non-partisan organization whose mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of children in need through selected, sustainable, and transformational public health programs. |  | | Mstislav Rostropovich and Galina Vishnevskaya with children recently vaccinated against hepatitis B at an orphanage in St. Petersburg. |
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| | | | These programs include: | | • | Large-scale vaccination initiatives targeting children, youth, women of child-bearing age and at-risk health care workers. 8 million individuals have been protected. | | • | Screening and treatment of pregnant women to prevent perinatally transmitted diseases such as hepatitis B and HIV. 350,000 pregnant women and newborns have been screened and protected. | | • | Screening and treatment to eliminate intestinal parasites in school-age children. 1.7 million children have been treated, among them hundreds of thousands of refugees and IDPs; | | • | Screening and treatment of newborns for congenital hypothyroidism to prevent retardation benefiting 145,000 newborns. | | • | Automation of medical data and disease surveillance. Over 300 surveillance sites are in place in Azerbaijan and Russia. |
| The strategy underlying RVF programs is to create mechanisms of sustainability by strengthening the existing health care infrastructure and avoiding the establishment of parallel structures. The RVF staff works with local health authorities to plan every aspect of the programs. Regular training and educational seminars for health care workers ensure that each program meets international standards. All programs are implemented by local health professionals. RVF representatives monitor and assess progress and work with health authorities to solve problems as they arise. Each program is designed to be self-sustaining within 3 to 5 years from inception. At present the RVF supports children’s health programs in the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan. To date, over 10 million children and young adults have been saved from illness, suffering and in some instances even death through the efforts of the RVF. In 2010 the RVF will launch children’s health initiatives in additional countries in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East.
The work on behalf of refugees and IDPs in a number of countries, such as Azerbaijan and Georgia, has been a catalyst for the decision to expand our health programs to Palestine and other parts of the Middle East to benefit children. After conducting a comprehensive assessment of the health needs of Palestinian children in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, we generated a list of health priorities in collaboration with health experts from UNRWA and the various ministries of health. The most pressing need identified was for a pneumococcal vaccination program for young children in the West Bank and Gaza. The Program will be launched in 2010. We are in the process of formulating other health initiatives based on the above-mentioned assessment.
Founded in 1991 by Maestro Rostropovich, the world-renowned Russian cellist, and his wife, the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, the RVF is a publicly-supported non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington , D.C. The RVF also maintains offices in St. Petersburg, Russia; Baku, Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, Georgia; Yerevan, Armenia and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. | | | | • Armenia | | • Azerbaijan | | • Georgia | | • Kyrgyzstan | | • Russia | | • West Bank and Gaza | | |
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The Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation (RVF) is a non-political, non-partisan organization whose mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of children in need through selected, sustainable, and transformational public health programs. ...
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