how interesting!

11Jun2001 RUSSIA: Issues of standards dog Russian receipt of World Health
Organization loan. 
Text of report by Russian newspaper Izvestiya on 9 June

Yesterday Julian Schweitzer, the World Bank's representative in Russia, gave
a briefing at which he answered questions on the World Bank loan that Russia
requested two years ago to combat tuberculosis and AIDS. The first income
from the 150m-dollar loan could be received as early as July. However, the
position of the government and the main authority in this question - the
Russian Federation Healthcare Ministry - has hardened. Minister Yuriy
Shevchenko, without standing on ceremony, asked the bank's representative to
leave the conference of donor countries on the problem of tuberculosis
"until certain issues have been resolved".

These "certain issues" are the conditions on which the World Bank allocates
the money. For example, the bank insists on holding open international
competitions for the purchase of medicines to treat tuberculosis that meet
the standards of the World Health Organization. WHO's experts believe that
our methods of treatment give rise to the appearance of new, resistant forms
of tuberculosis. Our experts, however, assert that treatment under WHO
standards drives the illness inside since it is doesn't seek to cure the
disease but only stops the elimination of bacilli.

The Russian side also argues that the auctions are always won by foreign
pharmaceutical firms since medicines must be produced according to the
international rules of good manufacturing practice [GMP] and we have almost
no plants that meet these requirements. That is to say, the money will go to
the West, but it is we who will have to repay the loan.

"Indeed, many Russian enterprises cannot receive GMP certification, and WHO
is ready to help them in this with World Bank funds," Armin Fidler, health
sector manager for the Europe and Central Asia region, said at the briefing.
"But neither the Russian government, nor the Russian Health Ministry has yet
responded to our proposal."

This is not the first month that an open debate, and, more importantly, a
quiet row in the lobbies, has been going on between departments and
organizations that would like to participate in sharing out the money. How
the intensifying conflict will be resolved is so far unclear.

Source: Izvestiya, Moscow, in Russian 9 Jun 01.
BBC Worldwide Monitoring/ (c) BBC 2001. 
Source: BBC MONITORING INTERNATIONAL REPORTS 
BBC MONITORING FORMER SOVIET UNION - ECONOMIC 11/06/2001 
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