Russia ready for active cooperation with Africa in protecting population from infections

MOSCOW. April 17 (Interfax) - Russia is ready for close cooperation with African countries in protecting their populations from dangerous infections and bolstering Africa's healthcare potential, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) Anna Popova read out Putin's greetings to participants in the African-Russian international conference on containing infectious diseases hosted by Uganda.

"The risk of new epidemics in the world and the spread of known dangerous infections remains quite high. The African continent is particularly vulnerable to such challenges and needs a rapid enhancement of its medical, scientific and technological potential to protect the population from various infections," Putin said.

"For its part, Russia stands ready for the most active cooperation in this key healthcare area," he said.