[1] As Russia struggles with a decreasing birthrate and increase in STIs, HIV, and poor reproductive health care, the need for government financed services and international programs is essential to successfully reach this vulnerable population.
Currently, women in Russia access care through government funded free services, private insurance, and NGO programs.
Though Russia has over 2,150 mammogram machines, there is no national screening program and poor education for women regarding early detection, treatment, and counseling.
The Center for Reproductive Rights reports that 91.7% of women in Russia have had at least one appointment in their lives, but this is often insufficient to ensure early detection.
[5] The government has rolled out a series of programs since the 1990s, but women encounter problems with access to protection and care due to gender discrimination and family rejection.
Under the Soviet Union, federal programs provided condoms, IUDs and estrogen pills, and allowed abortion as a form of contraception.
[8][9] Currently, women rely on a combination of traditional and modern contraceptive methods and lack some of the services once provided by the Soviet Union.
As a pronatalist country, legislation as of 2003 forbids abortion after week 12 except in cases of rape, imprisonment, death or disability of husband, and loss of “parental rights”.
[12] There are strong incentives for women in Russia to have multiple children due to depopulation, so the government provides health care to ensure healthy babies are born.
Russian women cite psychological issues from the transition out of a communist system and the challenges of identifying their new role in society.
Much of the population is clustered in cities, but for the millions of Russian women living in rural areas, reproductive health care is extremely limited.
Some of the problems with access to reproductive health care stem from Church-State ties, that hinder support and funding for contraceptive and abortion services.
Especially among poor and rural populations, lack of education and socioeconomic status lead to failures to seek reproductive healthcare if the husband forbids it.
The program has been met with varied success, as issues of forcing democratic ideals, cultural differences, and lack of involvement by actual patients have gotten in the way of effective changes.