MESSAGE DELIVERD ON GLOBAL SUMMIT ON AGING

UNCLAS MOSCOW 001037 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SOCI ECON TBIO RS SUBJECT: MESSAGE DELIVERD ON GLOBAL SUMMIT ON AGING REF: STATE 29783 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (SBU) We shared REFTEL information regarding the upcoming Global Summit on Aging with officials from the MFA's International Organizations Department and the Human Rights Department, the Ministry of Health and Social Development's International Relations Department (MOHSD),and the WHO's Moscow Office. The MFA and MOHSD have not yet offered any substantive comment (relevant health officials are all currently attending international health conferences in Germany and Belarus). The WHO's Moscow Office expressed general interest in the meeting and noted that this is an important issue for Europe. ¶2. (SBU) The issue of aging would be of general interest to Russian officials from the broader perspective of the country's demographic crisis. Facing a net population loss of 560,000-740,000 persons per year (based on 2005 and 2006 statistics),the Russian Government has made it a national priority to improve the country's demographic situation. Russia does not yet face some of the most acute issues associated with the rapid growth in the "oldest old" population, because the average life expectancy in Russia is about 10-12 years lower than in the United States and Western Europe. The country does face trends similar to Western Europe in terms of a low fertility rate and a declining working age population, whose earnings must support an increasing number of retirees and pensioners. BURNS