On April 26-27 in Pyatigorsk the Southern Regional Resource Center (SRRC) conducted a training on the role of women and youth in community development in the North Caucasus.

For its investments in health, exemplary corporate citizenship, and innovative approaches, Johnson & Johnson has been honored with a special citation from the annual Secretary of State's 2011 Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE). 

(March 28-30, 2012, St. Petersburg) In Russia, social workers have been playing an increasingly important role in the treatment of infectious diseases.  They provide a range of services which complement medical treatment programs, such as patient counseling and community outreach.  Perhaps most importantly, they help reduce the spread of infectious diseases by ensuring that patients adhere to treatment.

Two USAID/Russia partners, the Russian Microfinance Center (RMC) and the Fund for Sustainable Development (FSD) have played a significant role in expanding opportunities and best practices in small and medium entrepreneurship (SME) in Russia.

On Monday, March 12, a week of activities kicked off across Russia to promote the concept of inclusive education, which seeks to integrate physically and mentally disabled children into regular school classrooms.  Throughout the week, twenty Russian regions from Vladikavkaz to Arkhangelsk held seminars and trainings, showed movies, and organized creative activities and master classes on the subject, with the aim of raising awareness and disseminating inclusive education concepts to a wide audience. 

March 6, 2012 - In celebration of International Women's Day, government leaders, the international community, civil society and people living with HIV joined together at UNAIDS and discussed the challenges facing women and girls living with HIV in Russia and the region.   

Text4baby Russia, based on a successful program in the U.S., has been officially launched by the Russian Ministry of Health, USAID/Russia, Johnson & Johnson, and the Health and Development Foundation.

On December 14, Mission Director Charles North met with students from Russia's top diplomatic academy to present an overview of USAID's worldwide activities and answer questions about USAID's programs, including programs in Russia.

A small group of disabled children found themselves at the center of high-level attention at a ceremony in Bishkek on December 8, 2011.  "You are building a bridge of friendship between two great powers, the United States and Russia," former Kyrgyz President Rosa Otunbayeva told them,

Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Paige Alexander had a visit in Moscow for high-level visits and meetings with USAID/Russia partners, including Russia's first international conference on MDG-6.