Russia
For all the advances in weaponry, including the first hypersonic missile, the poor-quality of public health directly “undermines the countryʼs economic development.” Their aging population and declining birth rates contribute to the low overall health status and low life expectancy. More than two million Russian men are considered to be HIV positive and extremely high multi-drug resistant TB persists. The direct connection between the public health crisis and Russiaʼs economic potential is clear. It is generally accepted that the highly productive educated soviets leave the country largely for reasons having to do with the deteriorating political freedoms in the country. Failure to tackle Russiaʼs huge public health problems is likely to exacerbate the brain drain already underway. It is estimated that up to 2010, more than 1.25 million Russians emigrated. That represents an even greater number than those who left after the collapse of the Soviet Union.72,73
Russia reported its first two cases of COVID-19 and said the infected people were Chinese citizens who have since recovered. The first three Russian citizens have also been infected with COVID-19 onboard a quarantined cruise ship in Japan. Around 2,500 people arriving from China have been ordered/placed under quarantine for COVID-19 and monitored by the Russian capitalʼs facial-recognition technology.74 Their quarantine measures have mimicked other nations and appear robust, but remain challenging to the economy and sustainability.
The one Achilles heel in Russiaʼs public health is the abominable rise of infectious diseases such as TB and AIDs. Public measures for their control in Russia are insufficient, mainly because of the lack of funding for treatment, vaccine prophylaxis, and health education. Tuberculosis has become an epidemic in a country where it was once a rarity. Immunity is down because of poverty, too little food, and difficult access to health care. Russian doctors are worried that the TB epidemic could lead to epidemics of another disease. Today, TB is endemic in Russia, and there is a rising incidence of multi-drug-resistant strains of TB.75 Like other autocratic regimes, Russiaʼs “political model” of globalization that feeds transnational research and treatment of infectious diseases is seriously flawed and must take responsibility for the prevention of the spread of infectious disease beyond their borders accelerated by enhanced migration.76 What this reveals are cautious doubts about whether Russia, combined with shortages of medical supplies and inadequate standards that further highlights a number of public health challenges for the country, has the public health and political capacity to manage a serious COVID-19 epidemic.