The War Has Displaced Healthcare from russian Budgets

russia’s regions are cutting healthcare funding to cover budgetary expenditures for the war against Ukraine. In the first half of 2026, healthcare spending decreased by 5.8% – to 999 billion rubles. This is by 61 billion rubles less than during the same period last year.

Forty-two regions  cut healthcare spending, with 11 of them reducing it by more than 20%. The largest cuts were recorded in the altai republic – by 40.6% – and kirov region – by 39%. kemerovo region, where the coal industry crisis continues, reduced funding by 33.2%; orenburg region – by 32.1%; tver region – by 29%; moscow region – by 28.5%; vologda region – by 27.2%; and novosibirsk region – by 23.4%.

The lack of funds is affecting access to treatment. In more than 30 regions, patients with diabetes were left without glucagon – a medication used for emergency treatment in case of a critical drop in blood sugar levels, including loss of consciousness. The medicine is no longer being dispensed in chuvashia, udmurtia, buryatia, bashkortostan, komi, and ivanovo, tver, kemerovo, orenburg, omsk, volgograd, and samara regions, as well as in the altai territory, the nenets autonomous okrug, and other regions.

At the same time, russia cannot stop the spread of HIV. In 27 regions, the proportion of infected pregnant women exceeds 1%, indicating that the epidemic is widespread. In kemerovo, irkutsk, and sverdlovsk regions, more than 2% of the population is living with HIV. Among men aged 40–50, the proportion of those infected exceeds 3%.

At least 600,000 people continue to actively transmit the virus due to insufficient treatment coverage. Besides, in 2025, the number of blood-borne infections in healthcare facilities during the provision of care reached its highest level in 15 years. Every year, 30,000–34,000 russians die from HIV. For every fatality, there are 1.5 new infections.

The federal budget for 2027 provides for additional medication for 30,000 HIV patients. Meanwhile, 45,000 people were diagnosed in 2025, and approximately 52,000 in 2024. Consequently, the planned funding is insufficient even to cover all new patients.