The Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation (RVF) is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

based in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

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 cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...

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

Galina Vishnevskaya Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya (russian: links=no, Галина Павловна Вишневская, Ivanova, Иванова; 25 October 192611 December 2012) was a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a People's Artist o ...

. Currently,

Elena Rostropovich Elena Rostropovich (Moscow, June 22, 1958) is a pianist. She left Russia with her parents, cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich and soprano Galina Vishnevskaya in 1974. She is an acclaimed musician and philanthropist whose work on behalf ...

, 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. Purg ...

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. Fo ...

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 Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. 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 Eradication is the reduction of an infectious disease's prevalence in the global host population to zero. Two infectious diseases have successfully been eradicated: smallpox in humans, and rinderpest in ruminants. There are four ongoing progra ...

and Congenital Rubella Syndrome Prevention programs initiated by RVF in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, and

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

(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 the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

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,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

the Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

and the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and Gaza.

Sustainability

The strategy underlying RVF programs is to create mechanisms of

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

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.