Results of children's health-improving campaign ? 2003

Almost 23,000 Chechen children have enjoyed their rest at health resorts in southern Russia in 2003. The Russian Government allocated 150 million rubles from the State Social Insurance Fund for the purpose. The funding was similar in the last two years, when 60,000 young Chechens stayed at Russian health resorts, 30,000 children each year.

This year the figure has dropped somewhat, only to provide better health improvement quality. About a quarter of these children stayed at Russian Black Sea health resorts in summer. Any child dreams of bathing in the sea or basking in the sun down south, but the accommodation and transportation costs are pretty high. And that was the main reason why less Chechen children were able to enjoy their rest on the Black Sea coast this year than in the past.

17,500 Chechen schoolchildren went to health resorts in the neighbouring North Caucasian republics and in the Caucasian Mineral Spars area. The authorities and the doctors there also focused on the quality of health improvement. The Chechen branch of the Russian Mandatory Social Insurance Fund refused the services of a number of sanatoria that in past years failed to live up to the fund expectations in terms of accommodation, public catering and medical treatment of children.

Overall, this year no one has made any serious complaints about their rest and recreation conditions, and actually the contrary was true, - the children and their parents have sent a large number of letters to the Chechen presidential administration and the republican government to thank them for the quality health treatment. Chechen children are now certainly looking forward to the summer of 2004.