BSMU Discusses Prospects for the Development of Valeology

Belarusian State Medical University hosted a working meeting with representatives of the BRICS Health Coalition dedicated to health promotion, the development of valeological education, and the exchange of experience in preventive medicine.

BSMU was represented by Dmitry Chuikov, Vice-Rector for International Relations; Vasili Roudenok, Professor of the Department of Normal Anatomy, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor; Andrei Hindziuk, Dean of the Faculty of Preventive Medicine, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate professor; Tatyana Borisova, Head of the Department of Hygiene and Children’s Health Protection with a Course of Advanced Training and Retraining, Candidate of Medical Sciences; and Elena Guzik, Professor of the Department of Hygiene and Children's Health Protection with a Course of Advanced Training and Retraining, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor.

The online meeting brought together the following representatives of the BRICS Health Coalition: Elena Shuraeva, Head of the Healthcare Committee of the BRICS Joint Centre for Cooperation, Head of the Department of Innovation and Proprietary Technologies of the “Health of Healthy People” Union, and Director of the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization “Center for the Development of Health Technologies and Personalized Prevention in the Field of Health Promotion in the BRICS Countries”; Mikhail Sudas, First Deputy Director of the Joint BRICS Cooperation Centre; and Tigran Nersisyan, Independent Expert, member of the Independent Directorate, and Developer and Project Manager in the field of healthcare.

During the meeting, Elena Shuraeva, Chair of the BRICS Health Coalition, emphasized the significant potential of Belarusian State Medical University in promoting the culture of health and implementing preventive health initiatives. The participants discussed the growing importance of training qualified specialists in valeology, considering this field one of the key foundations for the development of a modern health promotion system. As a promising area of cooperation, the parties proposed the joint development of educational and scientific programmes aimed at improving the quality of specialist training in the field of public health promotion and disease prevention.

Tigran Nersisyan highlighted the conceptual distinction between healthcare and health promotion, stating: "Healthcare is the right to receive medical care, while health promotion is the right to remain healthy."   

Elena Guzik presented the results of the large-scale "School – Territory of Health" project, which has been implemented since 2014 and has been incorporated into the National Sustainable Development Strategy until 2035. Today, the programme covers more than one million schoolchildren, accounting for 92% of the total. The effectiveness of participating schools is assessed annually, while implementation guidelines and evaluation methodologies have been developed, with the current effectiveness rate reaching 62%. A network of 128 regional resource centres has also been established across the country.

The representatives of Belarusian State Medical University reaffirmed their readiness for constructive dialogue and further expansion of cooperation. Following the meeting, the parties agreed to exchange scientific and methodological materials to facilitate the development of joint initiatives. Today, valeology is one of the priorities of Belarus' national development policy, and the University remains open to discussing various approaches to its teaching and implementation.