Ukraine Hospitals Survive On Charity

KIEV, Ukraine -- One of the countries worst hit by the financial crisis is Ukraine, with its economy shrinking 21% in the first quarter of 2009. At the same time, the government has come to a virtual standstill, as politicians fight among themselves ahead of a presidential election. Amid all the turmoil, the country's healthcare system is suffering, says the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Kiev.

Inside a Ukrainian hospital. Budgets have been squeezed to almost nothing.
It is a sunny Saturday morning, and a group of volunteers, most of them foreigners living and working in Kiev, have given up their weekend to renovate a hospital ward.

They are washing the walls, painting them, putting in new floors and bathrooms.

After that, they plan to get to work on the operating theatre.

"We're doing a complete refurb on theatre one," says Dave Young, one of the volunteers.

"New flooring, new electrics, and new doors to make it sanitary and to make sure they can carry on giving decent levels of service."

Mr Young runs a construction company in Ukraine. But, thanks to the economic crisis, there is not much work.

"Construction is near enough extinct in Ukraine at the moment," he says cheerfully. "It's heavily hibernating."

But instead of laying off his workforce, he has decided to put them - and himself - to good use.

"We have crews who are keen to keep working, so we thought: 'Why not get some good out of them and get something worthwhile completed?'"

The volunteers are paying for everything, including materials and labour. It is a good news story. Until you hear the bad news.

'Condemned to death'

Professor Yuri Orlov, the doctor in charge of this children's ward and Ukraine's most senior paediatric neurosurgeon, said his budget for medicines this year is one quarter of what it was last year. And there is worse.

"We've got nothing, not a kopek, not a dollar, not a pfennig - nothing for new equipment, for upkeep, or for buying the most elementary necessities," he said.

And it certainly shows. The main bathroom on the ward is absolutely filthy.

The walls are filthy, the toilet has an open cistern covered in mould, and by the door, there is a cardboard box lying on the floor for rubbish - an open dustbin with discarded rubber gloves, used syringes, dirty tissues and other bits of medical equipment.

Marco Zecchinato, who deals with young cancer patients for an Italian medical charity, Soleterre, took a break from scrubbing one of the walls to give me the wider picture.

"In paediatric oncology, we have a rate of mortality that is double what it is in Europe or the US," he said.

"These children, just because they were born on the wrong side of Europe, 40% are surviving, 60% are condemned to death."

He confirmed Professor Orlov's picture of an already underfunded healthcare system, squeezed further by Ukraine's economic woes.

Expensive medicines

Since summer 2008, demand for Ukraine's main export, steel, has dropped dramatically.

The national currency, the hryvnia, has lost more than a third of its value against the dollar.

This is causing problems not only for the government, which is not getting the revenues it expected.

It also directly affects individual patients.

Because while, on paper, Ukraine has a system of universal free healthcare, in practice, you have to pay for almost every aspect of medical treatment, including supplying your own bandages, syringes and other medication.

And imported medicines have effectively doubled in price - not because the pharmaceutical companies have put their prices up, but because people's salaries are worth half what they used to be in foreign currency terms.

Defenders of the government point out that the situation in Ukraine is not unique.

"Health services across the world are to some extent underfunded," says Andrei Musienko, a former deputy health minister, now the director of one of Kiev's main hospitals.

"In our country the situation is the same. And of course at a time of economic crisis, medicine suffers along with all other social services."

'Trying to survive'

Back on the children's ward, nine-month-old Nastya is waiting for her operation.

Her mother, Tanya, had to borrow money travel to the capital from their village in central Ukraine. Now she has nothing left to pay for things like blood transfusions or extra medicines.

If there are complications, she says, she does not know what she is going to do.

Professor Orlov says that the hospital does everything it can to help people like Tanya - that somehow they will get by.

But he believes that for the government, healthcare simply is not a priority.

"The ministry of health is aware of the situation. But they are tied to the budget. And the health service in this country is financed according to the following principle - whatever's left over goes on health care."

"There are many factors at play here - political instability, massive economic problems. I get the impression that [the government is] just trying to survive, rather than thinking about the future."

In the meantime, people like Tanya and Nastya will have to survive only thanks to the charity of others.

Source: BBC News

Russia’s Neighbors Resist Wooing And Bullying

MOSCOW, Russia -- This was supposed to be Russia’s round in the battle over its backyard. All year, despite its own economic spasms, Moscow has earmarked great chunks of cash for its impoverished post-Soviet neighbors, seeking to lock in their loyalty over the long term and curtail Western influence in the region.

The Kremlin
But the neighbors seem to have other ideas. Belarus — which was promised $2 billion in Russian aid — is in open rebellion against the Kremlin, flaunting its preference for Europe while also collecting money from the International Monetary Fund.

Uzbekistan joined Belarus in refusing to sign an agreement on the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces, an idea Moscow sees as an eventual counterweight to NATO.

There are other examples, like Turkmenistan’s May signing of a gas exploration deal with a German company, and Armenia’s awarding of a major national honor to Moscow’s nemesis, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia.

But the biggest came last week when Kyrgyzstan — set to receive $2.15 billion in Russian aid — reversed a decision that had been seen as a coup for Moscow, last winter’s order terminating the American military’s use of the Manas Air Base there.

“A game of chance has developed in the post-Soviet space: Who can swindle the Kremlin in the coolest way?” wrote the military analyst Aleksandr Golts, when news of the Manas decision broke. “Such a brilliant result of Russia’s four-year diplomatic efforts!”

There are few projects that matter more to Russia than restoring its influence in the former Soviet republics, whose loss to many in Moscow is still as painful as a phantom limb.

Competition over Georgia and Ukraine has brought relations between Moscow and Washington to a post-cold-war low, and the matter is bound to be central to the talks that begin on Monday between Russia’s president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, and President Obama.

Russia’s ability to attract its neighbors to its side and keep them there is unimpressive. The Kremlin’s methods have been reactive and often bullying, combining incentives like cheap energy or cash disbursement with threats of trade sanctions and gas cutoffs.

The war in Georgia seems to have hurt Moscow in that regard. Rather than being cowed into obedience, as most Western observers feared, the former republics seem to have grown even more protective of their sovereignty.

Moreover, the leaders themselves have thrived by playing Russia and the West and, in some cases, China off against one another, although that has not brought stability or prosperity to their countries.

In Moscow’s so-called zone of privileged interests, in other words, Russia is just another competitor.

“There is no loyalty,” said Oksana Antonenko, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, based in London. “Rivalry is the persistent dynamic. They have to play in that game, to compete.”

Kyrgyzstan’s reversal on Manas is a case study in canny horse trading. Russian officials, including Mr. Medvedev, have said they blessed the decision, and that may be true, but President Kurmanbek S. Bakiyev is the one who walked away with what he wanted.

Moscow wanted the base, a key transit hub for the United States’ war in Afghanistan, shut down; Kyrgyzstan wanted more money. In February, Moscow seemed to have achieved a master stroke — at a news conference announcing the pledge of $2.15 billion in Russian aid, Mr. Bakiyev said the United States would have to leave Manas in six months.

The first Russian payments — a $150 million emergency grant and a $300 million low-interest loan — arrived in April, allowing Mr. Bakiyev to pay wages and pensions as he began his re-election campaign.

Then Kyrgyzstan shocked the region by announcing a new agreement with the United States. Washington will pay more than triple the rent for the base — now called a “transit center” — increasing its annual payment to $60 million from $17.4 million, while kicking in upwards of $50 million in grants to the government. No one knows if the Kremlin will make good on the rest of its pledge.

Mr. Bakiyev “played the Russians, then he played us,” said Alexander A. Cooley, an associate professor of political science at Barnard College who addressed the Manas dispute in a recent book, “Base Politics.” “It’s all about getting as much as they can.”

This should be easier for Russia, which dwarfs its Eurasian neighbors in both size and wealth. Russia retains a military presence in more than half the former Soviet countries, and huge swaths of their populations rely on Russian media for their news.

Russia can offer muscular assistance in elections, as in Moldova, which has just received a Russian pledge of $500 million four weeks before voters go to the polls to elect a new Parliament.

But Russia’s strategy for consolidating support in neighboring capitals can hardly be called a strategy. Belarus’s president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, who is avidly pursuing Western partners, has been barraged with carrots and sticks from Moscow — first promised $2 billion in Russian aid, then bitterly chastised for his economic policy, then punished with a crippling ban on the import of milk products, then rewarded by a reversal of the import ban. Russia regards Mr. Lukashenko’s truculence as a bluff.

“He is imitating a quarrel with Russia until the West demands serious changes from his regime, at which point, he will, of course, surrender,” said Parliament member Konstantin F. Zatulin, a standard-bearer for Russia’s ambitions in former Soviet space. “It’s just his greedy line of behavior.”

But the examples extend much farther. Every post-Soviet country that can manage it is pursuing a “multivector policy,” Mr. Zatulin acknowledged. Mr. Zatulin said he was not upset by these tacks away from Russia, but there was an edge to his answer.

“What is the point of being disappointed?” Mr. Zatulin said. “Pride comes before a fall. These are weak, dependent and poor countries which want to attract attention to themselves — not only attention, but aid. I cannot criticize them for that. But there are some red lines that shouldn’t be crossed.”

Herein lies the problem: Russia’s appeal to them just does not sound very seductive. Ideally, it would present an attractive model for its neighbors, politically and economically. Young generations would learn Russian because they wanted to, and the post-Soviet alliances would be clubs its neighbors are lining up to join.

In any case, Moscow will have to use tools other than wire transfers if it hopes to emerge from the financial crisis with a solid political bloc. As Alexei Mukhin, director of the nonprofit Center for Political Information, put it, “Love bought with money will not last long.

“That is purchased love,” he said. “It’s not very reliable.”

Source: The New York Times

Ukraine To Continue Arms Sales To Georgia, Says Government

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine will continue arms deliveries to Georgia despite objections from Russia, a Ukrainian government official said Thursday.

Ukrspetsexport at a trade show.
'We have made deliveries (to Georgia) in the past, and we will continue as long as there are no bans (to the deliveries) from United Nations Security Council,' said Serghy Bondarchiuk, director of Ukraine's state-owned arms exporter Ukrspetsexport, in a Sehodnia newspaper interview.

'If there are further (legal) orders from Georgia, we will consider them as well,' he added.

Moscow was furious a year ago with Ukraine for selling Georgia anti-aircraft equipment, tanks, artillery, helicopters, small arms, and ammunition - all used against Russian forces during the 2008 war over the disputed South Ossetia.

The Ukrainian anti-aircraft kit in particular surprised Russian military planners, who had expected total air superiority over Georgia during the conflict, but in fact lost between 5 and 17 planes and helicopters to missiles guided by high-tech Georgian radars.

Ukraine had, prior to the war, sold Georgia at least one Kolchuga radar system described by its Donetsk manufacturers as a leading-edge technology capable of detecting even modern stealth aircraft.

The US considered sanctions against Ukraine in 2003 over suspicions it sold a similar Kolchuga system to then Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

The Russia-Georgia war provided 'excellent advertising' for Ukrainian anti-aircraft technologies, and the east Ukrainian Topaz plant manufacturing the Kolchuga radar 'has a long list of orders,' Bondarchiuk told the newspaper.

Ukraine is rated the world's 10th largest arms-exporter, having sold some 800 million dollars of weapons and military equipment to foreign customers in 2008, up 12 per cent from 2007, according to data provided by the state-run arms exporter Ukrspetsexport.

Ukraine's customers are most often are nations lacking strong defence ties to US and NATO nations, or Russia.

Buyers of Ukrainian weaponry in recent years aside from Georgia include Syria, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Chad, Sudan, Nigeria, Thailand and Myanmar.

Source: DPA

Ericsson To Modernize Kyivstar's Network To Meet Uptake Of Mobile Data In Ukraine

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Ericsson is paving the way for leading Ukrainian operator Kyivstar to offer its 23.9 million subscribers mobile broadband services under a three-year network modernization deal between the two companies.


While Ukraine awaits the imminent release of 3G licenses, Kyivstar's customers across 99.9 percent of the country will be able to access multimedia data services and superior voice service thanks to an expansion and modernization of Kyivstar's GSM/EDGE network.

Ericsson will boost capacity and coverage of the operator's radio access and core network, which serves more than half the nation's total subscriber base of 55.2 million.

By increasing capacity by more than 30 percent, Kyivstar will be able to manage the anticipated uptake of mobile data in the network.

The core network capacity is expanded by using the Ericsson Mobile Softswitch Solution, which also enables cost-efficient migration to an all-IP network.

The deal also covers microwave transmission, network deployment, systems integration and support services, as well as competence development for staff.

Igor Lytovchenko, President of Kyivstar, says: "This network modernization furthers Kyivstar's strategy of maintaining its technology leadership, while preparing for the launch of mobile broadband services with the introduction of 3G in Ukraine."

Jan Campbell, President of Ericsson Eastern Europe and Central Asia, says that the deal is an extension of Ericsson's established partnership with Kyivstar, which dates back to the nationwide rollout of its GSM network in 1996. "By using Ericsson's latest GSM/EDGE technologies, Kyivstar can deliver seamless services to its customers today and be well prepared for future needs."

Kyivstar and Ericsson have also joined forces in the area of advanced mobile technologies, with the first Ukrainian demonstrations of 3G and MMS in 2002 and EDGE in 2004.

Source: Marketwire

Russian Corruption Reporter Dies Of Head Injury

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia -- A local corruption reporter in Russia died of head injuries on Monday in what police, said Tuesday, was a drunken fall. Colleagues, on the other hand, are sure it was a revenge attack for muckraking journalism.

Vyacheslav Yaroshenko
Vyacheslav Yaroshenko, 63, the editor of a Rostov-on-Don newspaper whose name translates as Corruption and Crime died Monday of a severe head injury sustained April 30.

Police say Yaroshenko was drunk and hit his head on the stairs, but colleagues claim Yaroshenko was attacked.

''I have no doubt that the attack was directly connected to Yaroshenko's writing and is payback for his journalistic work,'' said Sergei Slepzov, a close friend and colleague of Yaroshenko.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has called for an investigation, suggesting that Yaroshenko was targeted because he had written about corruption in the local law enforcement agencies, government office and the prosecutor's office.

But police say there was no evidence of foul play.

''The authorities have already conducted a thorough investigation of all evidence of the crime and did not find any precedent for opening a new investigation,'' said Col. Aleksei Polyaski, a local police spokesman.

Russia is considered the third-most dangerous country in the world for journalists, after Iraq and Algeria. Nearly 50 journalists have been killed in Russia since the Soviet breakup, among them Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya and U.S. journalist Paul Klebnikov.

Few of the murders have been solved in a country where reporters are frequently harassed, threatened and killed for exposing facts that embarrass authorities.

The Union of Journalists of Russia said the problem was that the country's wholly adequate laws to protect journalists are applied arbitrarily.

''Unfortunately we don't have independent courts and that's why all the laws to protect journalists are disregarded,'' the union's deputy chairman Mikhail Fedotov told The Associated Press.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has urged President Barack Obama to raise the issue of Yaroshenko's death when he visits Russia on Monday.

In Ukraine, the 2000 kidnapping and murder of muckraking journalist Georgiy Gongadze resonated throughout Ukrainian society and the world. Ukraine’s ability to solve the case became a litmus test for the strength of its democratic institutions – an exam the nation has so far failed.

Nine years later, three former police officers are behind bars, convicted of abducting and killing Gongadze. But they are seen as the fall guys. Those responsible for ordering the crime remain unidentified, while a police general remains wanted on suspicion of organizing the kidnapping and murder.

Source: Kyiv Post

Ukraine's Economy Plunges 20.3% In First Quarter: Official Data

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's economy shrank 20.3 percent in the first three months of this year, official data showed on Tuesday, making Ukraine one of the world's worst hit countries in the global economic crisis.

An elderly homeless woman drags her belongings as she walks in the centre of western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
The National Statistics office data, based on a comparison with the first quarter of 2008, showed the construction sector was hardest hit, declining 54 percent over the 12 months while industry went down 36.5 percent.

The energy sector also fell 19 percent but farming and financial services instead showed growth of 1.3 percent and 27 percent respectively.

President Viktor Yushchenko warned earlier that first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) would shrink by more than 20 percent in ex-Soviet Ukraine.

The steep recession comes after a prolonged period of economic growth.

The Ukrainian economy grew at an average of seven percent per year between 2000 and 2007. GDP has since shrunk because of the economy's reliance on metals and chemical exports whose prices have plunged on world markets in the crisis.

The International Monetary Fund has forecast that Ukraine's economy will shrink by 8.0 percent over the whole of 2009, while the World Bank says the fall will be more than 9.0 percent.

Ukrainian analysts are even more pessimistic, forecasting a contraction of between 12.5 percent and 14.0 percent of GDP.

Some analysts have said however that the recession in Ukraine could be bottoming out and growth will resume next year.

Ukraine's precarious financial position has raised the risk on monthly payments to Russian gas giant Gazprom, which cut off supplies to much of Europe in January as part of a dispute with Kiev over payments, debts and prices.

Ukraine is also suffering from a political crisis, with a deep rift between Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko -- two former allies during the pro-Western Orange Revolution of 2004 who have since fallen out.

Ukraine is set to hold a presidential election in January.

The International Monetary Fund has already given 7.3 billion dollars (5.2 billion euros) in loans to Ukraine as part of a 16.5-billion-dollar bailout agreed last year in exchange for budget and economic reforms.

Source: AFP