Russia to sharply cut funding for its national cancer programme next year

Russia's draft federal budget envisages cutting funding for the country's national anti-cancer programme by almost twelve times next year. This means the healthcare sector will receive far less money for fighting cancer, as government spending prioritises the military.

Why funding is falling

The reduction is attributed to high military expenditure. Russia launched a full-scale war in Ukraine, and continuing it requires large sums from the state budget. These costs also affect the funding of other areas unrelated to weapons production and the armed forces.

What it means

The information comes from the draft federal budget, so the document is still at the proposal stage. The national anti-cancer programme is a country-wide healthcare initiative aimed at fighting oncological diseases. A cut in its funding means that considerably less money is planned for this area next year than before.

The source did not give specific figures for the programme's funding, but points to a drop of almost twelvefold. It is one example of how the costs of the war affect the structure of Russia's state budget and the funding of other areas.