Life in shape: a public health rating of the regions will appear in Russia

Alcohol sales restrictions and rental points for newborns, mobile modules for medical examinations, new women's clinics and children's clinics. These and other measures to preserve health and ensure an active long-term life will help systematize and evaluate the Public Health Rating of the regions, which will begin to be published next year. The first version will be presented at the forum "National Health — the basis of Russia's prosperity" in 2026, said Leo Bokeria, chief freelance specialist in cardiovascular surgery at the Russian Ministry of Health. About which mechanisms for maintaining the health of Russians will become key in the near future, see the Izvestia article.

The top five regions

A public regional health rating will be created in Russia, President of the National Health League, chief freelance specialist in cardiovascular surgery at the Russian Ministry of Health Leo Bokeria said at the All-Russian forum "National Health — the basis of Russia's Prosperity" (held in Moscow from May 14 to 16, 2025).

"This will be an interdisciplinary, objective, transparent rating combining statistics, citizen opinion and expert assessment," he said at the opening of the forum.

The rating will be based on open data from government statistics and official reports from the regions, according to the concept available to Izvestia. It will include data on the health of the population and the state of healthcare (availability of medical services, the level of medical examinations, fertility and mortality rates, etc.).

Five leading regions will be identified in each area. The assessment of the contribution of each federal subject to the formation of a healthy environment for citizens' lives will be based on a synthesis of key performance indicators (KPIs) for governors, which are approved by the President of Russia, including indicators in the fields of health, sports, ecology, education, culture and the urban environment.

The task of the rating is not to compare regions with each other, but to stimulate their mutual development and identify best practices, Leo Bokeria emphasized. He invited all the subjects of the federation to join the work on the joint elaboration of criteria. Proposals from governors, regional ministries, public and professional organizations will be taken into account.

"We hope that in this rating each region will see not an assessment from above, but a mirror of its concern for people in numbers, in decisions and in results," he added.

The concept reviewed by Izvestia notes that the project's mission is to support the development of a health culture at all levels of government. In particular, this will be done by motivating governors to more actively implement initiatives to achieve state priorities and goals, recognizing and supporting best practices in their regions, replicating them throughout the country, attracting public attention and supporting the efforts of regional authorities to create conditions for health, well-being and longevity.

The rating will be presented at the forum next year.

How is the fight against alcohol going?

Some regions have already achieved significant results in the fight against alcohol-related deaths, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said at the forum. According to him, the Ministry of Health is developing federal and regional strategies to limit alcohol consumption by Russians.

— Among the federal measures are price controls and restrictions on alcohol sales in certain places, including a ban on remote trading. Regional authorities can adapt these measures depending on local conditions," the minister said.

As an example of the effectiveness of such measures, he singled out the Vologda region, where time constraints on sales have already produced results. Since March 1, alcohol in the region is sold on weekdays only from 12:00 to 14:00. As a result, the number of deaths from alcohol—related causes decreased by 41.2% year-on-year in the region in March, and by 18.2% in April.

These measures, according to the minister, did not require investments in the healthcare system. As another good example, he cited Yakutia, where alcohol sales were banned in more than 200 settlements, that is, almost a third of all villages in the region.

"From 2005 to 2023, deaths from alcohol—related causes decreased by 42% in Yakutia, and the number of registered crimes committed under the influence of alcohol decreased by 50.3%," the minister stressed.—By the end of 2023, in the "sober villages", compared with the rest, mortality is 30% lower from alcohol—related causes and 23% lower from alcoholic cardiomyopathy,— Mikhail Murashko noted.

Other possible regional measures, according to the minister, include an additional increase in the size of territories adjacent to socially significant facilities where the retail sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited, as well as the introduction of additional requirements to the authorized capital for organizations selling alcohol at retail.

How to increase the birth rate

One of the main topics of the forum was the increase in the birth rate. Thus, according to Mikhail Murashko, more than 300 women's clinics will be created in Russia as part of the national Family project. In addition, more than 140 perinatal centers will receive new medical equipment. Modernization of children's hospitals and children's polyclinics is planned.

The national project also includes preventive examinations with a new approach.

"This is a special medical mobile technology module that, when visiting organized groups, allows children to undergo medical examinations in a short period of time and parents to receive conclusions that will be transferred for further observation at the child's place of residence," the minister said.

Currently, only 10% of couples in Russia plan pregnancy in advance, 90% come to an appointment with her, said Ekaterina Sheremetyeva, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the National Medical Research Center, speaking at the forum. She also noted that the reproductive behavior of Russian women has changed and now the average age of childbirth has shifted towards 30 years and, according to Rosstat forecasts, will continue to grow.

The work on increasing the birth rate is actively underway at the regional level, the heads of the regions assured. For example, 26 free rental items for newborns have been created in the Vologda region, said the governor of the region, Georgy Filimonov. Students, large families, and single parents can apply to such points. Young Parent Centers have also been launched in the region, services have been created to prepare families for the birth of a child, and mother and child rooms have been opened at universities in the region.

There is also a "Protect me Today" program for working with pregnant women, Georgy Filimonov added. Thanks to her, doctors can receive 5,000 rubles for each saved pregnancy and 25,000 rubles for the birth of a child.

"Private medical organizations in the region have stopped performing procedures for artificial termination of pregnancy," the governor assured.

In the first quarter of this year, the number of abortions in the Vologda Oblast decreased by 86.4%, he stressed.