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 MOSCOW (AP) - The government Thursday approved a new program to fight diseases that contribute to Russia's plunging population, which President Vladimir Putin has singled out as a serious hindrance to its prosperity, news reports said.
Approval of a five-year financing plan aimed to decrease mortality from diseases including diabetes, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and cancer came as the state statistics agency said Russia's population dropped by more than 560,000 last year to 142.2 million, a new post-Soviet low.
Putin has lamented a persistent population decline that has served as a stark backdrop for the largely oil-fueled economic growth that has rejuvenated Russia during his presidency. He has focused largely on increasing the birthrate, encouraging childbirth by establishing subsidies for parents starting with their second child, but deaths continue to outnumber births and life expectancy remains short, particularly for men.
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