The Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation (RVF) is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

that supports programs to improve the health of children worldwide. It was founded in 1991 by

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

, the world-renowned Russian cellist, and his wife, the soprano

Galina Vishnevskaya Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya (, Ivanova, Иванова; 25 October 1926 – 11 December 2012) was a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966. She was the wife of cellist Mstislav Rostropo ...

. Currently, Elena Rostropovich, daughter of Mstislav Rostropovich and Galina Vishnevskaya, serves as the President of RVF. To date, RVF programs have benefited over 20 million children and young adults.

Mission

RVF (Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation) promotes the health and wellbeing of children in need through sustainable, transformational public health programs in countries around the world. RVF is a non-political and non-partisan organization.

History

The Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation (RVF) was known as the Vishnevskaya-Rostropovich Foundation (VRF) until 2006. RVF was founded in 1991 by

and his wife

. Prior to 2000, the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation primarily supplied modern medical equipment to children’s hospitals in Russia and provided advanced training to Russian doctors and nurses. Since 2000, RVF has focused on improving public health services for children. The majority of its resources are concentrated on modernizing national childhood vaccination schedules, preventing mother-to-child transmission of diseases, and

deworming Deworming (sometimes known as worming, drenching or dehelmintization) is the giving of an anthelmintic drug (a wormer, dewormer, or drench) to a human or animals to rid them of helminths parasites, such as roundworm, flukes and tapeworm. Pu ...

school-aged children. Over 20 million individuals have benefited from RVF's health programs. RVF successfully introduced the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the West Bank and Gaza, so that all newborns in both territories receive this life-saving vaccine. Local health authorities assumed full responsibility of the vaccination program in 2013, transitioning to complete local sustainability of the program. RVF launched a rotavirus vaccination program in the West Bank and Gaza in 2015. RVF’s

Hepatitis B Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the '' hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. ...

vaccination program of adolescents and at-risk health care workers in the Russia Federation(2000–2006) became the largest public health program for youth in Russia since the collapse of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Approximately 2 million individuals in 22 regions of Russia were vaccinated. The program laid the groundwork for the Russian Ministry of Health’s continuing Hepatitis B vaccination initiative.

measles eradication Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by measles virus. Other names include ''morbilli'', ''rubeola'', ...

and Congenital Rubella Syndrome Prevention programs initiated by RVF in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

(2004–2009) helped vaccinate millions of individuals. In December 2009 the programs in these countries completed the transition to full financing by the national ministries of health. RVF's deworming programs in Central Asia have been conducted in close cooperation with the local Ministries of Health as well as the United States Government and have treated over 11 million children and adults. RVF began a newborn screening program to detect and ensure prompt treatment for critical congenital heart defects (CCHDs) in 2014. CCHDs are one of the most common severe malformations in the world. In the Republic of Georgia an estimated 1,000 babies are born each year with potentially fatal heart defects. Many babies born with CCHDs appear healthy at birth, only to develop acute deterioration and die several days after leaving their birth hospitals.

Current activities

RVF currently supports a rotavirus vaccination program in the West Bank and Gaza as well as addressing

vaccine hesitancy Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal of vaccines despite availability and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain about their use, or using ce ...

in Russia, pneumococcal vaccine impact research in Russia, as well as supporting heart screening for newborns in Azerbaijan. RVF supports children’s health programs focusing on vaccination, screening and prevention and deworming and has been active in

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

the Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

and the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

Sustainability

The strategy underlying RVF programs is to create mechanisms of

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

by strengthening the existing health care infrastructure and avoiding the establishment of parallel structures. All programs are implemented by local health professionals supported by regular training and educational seminars to ensure that each program meets international standards. Each program is designed to be self-sustaining within three to five years of inception.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.rostropovich.org Child-related organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1991 1991 establishments in Washington, D.C.