Over 1,000 children from Chernobyl-affected areas of Belarus and Russia to receive health rehabilitation at the expense of the Union State this year
15:11, 29 April
Photo: BELTA
More than 1,000 children from the areas of Belarus and Russia most affected by the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident will undergo health rehabilitation this year at the expense of the Union State. This was announced by Olga Boronenko, Head of the Department of Social Policy and Information Support of the Permanent Committee of the Union State, on the sidelines of a meeting of the permanent seminar at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, BELTA has learned.
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"Over 40 years, we have learned the main lesson of Chernobyl: it is easier to counter the consequences of the accident and revive life in the affected areas together. This understanding has become the foundation of our work within the Union State," Olga Boronenko emphasized. She noted that over all these years, joint Russian-Belarusian programs to mitigate the consequences of the disaster have been implemented, along with measures for the treatment and rehabilitation of people living in radioactively contaminated areas.
Special attention is paid to improving the accessibility and quality of medical care, as well as the development and implementation of new medical technologies. Since 2016, measures have been implemented to provide comprehensive medical care to citizens of Belarus and Russia exposed to radiation, accident liquidators, and those who live or have lived in contaminated areas. Medical care is provided on the basis of three leading multidisciplinary medical centers in the two countries.
From 2016 to 2025, 13,202 patients received specialized and high-tech care, including 512 people last year alone. Kidney transplants, complex surgical interventions for cardiovascular diseases, and assistance to patients with severe oncological and orthopedic diseases are being performed, Olga Boronenko listed.
Since 2022, the Permanent Committee of the Union State has been organizing treatment and rehabilitation for children from the most affected districts of Belarus and Russia. During this time, more than 30,000 children in need of specialized rehabilitation have rested and undergone treatment courses in the best medical and health centers. In 2025, 1,050 children received such assistance. In 2026, it is planned to rehabilitate at least 1,000 children at four children's sanatoriums in Belarus and one in the Russian Federation.
The meeting of the permanent seminar is taking place on April 29 and 30 in the Gomel region under the theme "The Legacy of Chernobyl. Results of 40 Years of Work to Overcome the Consequences of the Chernobyl NPP Accident." Participants include representatives from the ministries of emergency situations, energy, forestry of Belarus, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, as well as research institutes specializing in disaster consequence mitigation. Based on the meeting's results, a document with practical recommendations aimed at the development of the affected territories will be prepared.
The permanent seminar under the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia on the construction of the Union State was established in 2006 on the initiative of union parliamentarians. It traditionally brings together representatives of scientific circles from both countries for a detailed examination of current cooperation issues within the Union State.
