The main goal of the public health system in Belarus is to preserve and improve people’s health through improvement of medical care and making it more available.

The common goals of medical science are as follows:

1. ensuring long, healthy, and active life of the population through creation and widespread adoption of state-of-the-art technologies for prophylaxis, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation; supply of medications and medical equipment; practical mastering the results of foreign scientific products;
2. ensuring of scientific events and organizational measures, research and scientific-and-engineering innovative activities aimed at deriving of maximum efficient final result in the field of development of the national medical science and applied medicine, formation of favourable course and trends of the population health in the Republic;
3. focusing of the medical science on applied medical tasks solution, their anticipatory prediction, scientific assessment and finding efficient solutions.

Innovative scientific activities and their further development will be focused on elaboration and study of new efficient technologies for treatment, diagnosis, prophylaxis, and rehabilitation, including molecular genetic research and medical-purpose devices, medications and immunobiological drugs, cellular and molecular-and-biological technologies, methods of identification of human mechanisms of adaptation to any physical, chemical and biological environmental factors, patterns of pathologic process emerging and progress.

Innovative activities of the Ministry of Health are aimed at preventive health care and preservation of people’s health on the basis of studying the patterns and mechanisms of impact made by any chemical, physical, and biological factors of human environment; improvement of medical treatment outcomes and quality of diagnosis on the basis of development of efficient diagnostic and treatment technologies yielding more significant medical, social, and economic effect to the society; reduction of prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and the levels of main risk factor of their development; improvement of the existing and development of new methods of malignant tumors diagnosis, therapy, and treatment; reduction of death rate, preventive health care, and prevention from casualties from mass infectious diseases; development of state-of-the-art technologies for rehabilitation of patients and disabled people in the Republic of Belarus.

In order to fulfill the tasks set by the Ministry of Health, the following has been formed and is under implementation:
State scientific and engineering programs for 2006 – 2010, such as:

1. Therapeutic and Diagnosis Technologies Program, which includes the sub-programs such as: Therapy; Surgery; Heart and Vessels; Oncology;
2. Infectious Diseases and Microbiological Biotechnologies;

Branch scientific and engineering programs for 2007 –2009, such as

1. Medical Ecology and Hygiene;
2. Medical Rehabilitation and Expert Examination;
3. Mother and Child;

State comprehensive scientific research program for 2006 – 2010:

1. Modern Cellular and Molecular – Genetic Technologies in Medicine; New Approaches to Regulation and Correction (Rehabilitation) and Prophylaxis of Pathological Human States;
2. Innovative scientific projects.

In the nearest future innovative development of this branch will be connected with establishment of the Republican Scientific and Practical Centres which will act as innovative structures enabling end-to-end solution of more rapid application of the outcomes of fundamental research to the clinics and to the industrial production.

In addition to earlier established Republican Scientific and Practical Centres (hereinafter RSPC) establishment of the Republican Transplantology and Cellular Biotechnologies Scientific and Practical Centre is scheduled.

Opening of the Positron-Emitting Tomography Centre on the base of Research Institute of Oncology and Medical Radiology in the name of N.N. Alexandrov is scheduled in 2008 (amount of financing makes 4312.0 million rouble). Allocation of 30217.0 million roubles is planned to complete reconstruction of the surgical and resuscitation unit.

The following is scheduled: reconstruction and re-equipment of Neurology and Neurosurgery RSPC (57168.9 million rouble); reconstruction of the surgery unit in Pulmonology and Phthisiology Research Institute (12920.9 million roubles); reconstruction of the maternity hospital, gynaecological unit combined with the surgery department, pregnant women pathology department and paediatric unit in Mother and Child RSPC (76310.0 million rouble); reconstruction of the two- and nine-storeyed buildings of the 4th City Clinical Hospital to locate Cardiology RSPC (32058.0 million roubles).

Construction work in Epidemiology and Microbiology Research Institute will be continued in order to build the unit for scientific research of special danger disease-producing factors (31681.0 million rouble).

The self-sustained pilot production facilities to produce biologically active food supplements on the basis of completed research works have been established in the premises of BelMAPO Central Research Laboratory, a unique scientific equipment sharing centre.

In 2006, activity aimed at creation of the National Doping Control Laboratory in the premises of BelMAPO started; such Laboratory would contribute to implementation of the National Athlete Doping Control Program in the Republic of Belarus.

Research institutions, Republican scientific and practical centres located in the city of Minsk, and the respective institutions located in Vitebsk, Gomel, and Grodno regions will be involved in the implementation of the State Innovation Development Program of the Republic of Belarus for 2006 – 2010.

So, microbiological technologies for bowels disbacteriosis auto-strain treatment, anti-clamydia vaccine, the primary liver cancer early stage diagnosing technology will be developed and applied at Grodno State Medical University, Educational Establishment.

New herb-based medications, such as carrion flower, motherwort, silverweed, holy thistle will be developed and applied at the Order of Peoples’ Friendship Vitebsk State Medical Institute, Educational Establishment.

Development and application of the new technology for functional and anatomic coronary artery stenosis differential diagnosis is planned at Gomel State Medical University, Educational Establishment.

The methods of vitreoretinalis surgery for the radiation-exposed patients will be developed at the Republican Scientific and Practical Centre of Radiation Medicine and Human Ecology.

Development and application of advanced (state-of-the-art and high-tech) technologies for cardiology, oncology, infectious diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, etc. is planned in 2007 – 2010.

The following new techniques of diagnosis and treatment of patients will be developed (improved):

1. in cardiology: for patients suffering from cardiac arrhythmia, acute coronary syndrome, cardiac decompensation, ischemic heart disease, coronary artery stenosis;
2. in oncology: for patients suffering from unfavourable prognosis uterine carcinoma; breast cancer, using SHF-hyperthermia and organ-preserving surgery; disseminated stomach cancer; primary and metastatic liver cancer; malignant tumor of liver, lungs, and bones, using the intervention radiology methods; urinary bladder surface cancer, using intravesical chemotherapy and immunotherapy; retroperitoneal space and small pelvis non-organ tumors; neck of womb precursor lesion; oncohematologic diseases, etc.;
3. in the field of infectious diseases new generations of diagnostic, therapeutical and preventive, other immunibiological medications will be developed on the basis of advanced genetically engineered and biotechnological approaches, and put to use with a view to decrease the number of cases of flu, acute respiratory disease, enterovirus diseases, feral herd infections, diphtheria, etc.

Innovative technologies will be developed aimed at reduction of morbidity rate, death rate, incapacitating rate in the field of mother and child health protection, diseases of central nervous system and peripheral nervous system, haematological diseases, traumatological and orthopedic diseases, etc.

Implementation of the new projects in the field of diagnostic, treatment and prophylaxis of human diseases will contribute to improvement of the population health and stabilization of demographic situation in the Republic of Belarus. It is planned to reduce death rate: by 25% from cardiac infarction, by 5% from acute stroke, by 1.5% from cerebrovascular diseases, by 50% from diseases of respiratory apparatus, by 20% from diseases of digestive apparatus, by 10% from diabetes mellitus.

In 2007 – 2010, the total amount of financing for creation of new enterprises or new production facilities at the existing enterprises, and modernization of the existing enterprises will make 338104.26 million roubles, in particular, 329678.09 million roubles from the Republican budget, 6298 million roubles from local budgets; 2127.38 million roubles from other sources.