Page One

While health care in Berkeley and Oakland certainly has its critics, some local health professionals hope they can lend a little guidance to an overseas sister city in need. 

This week five Russian medical workers from the town of Nakhodka in the Russian Far East, just north of North Korea, are touring area health centers to learn about East Bay services. 

Nakhodka, Oakland’s sister city since 1986, like much of Russia, has faced massive cuts to medical services in the past decade. 

The loss of state funds has made it increasingly difficult for authorities to fight a wave of intravenous drug abuse that has run rampant throughout much of Asia and has spawned an alarming surge in HIV infections. 

According to a 2001 report from the World Health Organization, 6 million people in Asia have contracted HIV since the end of the 1980s, and the continent now accounts for about 20 percent of worldwide HIV infections. 

Igor Ponitaev, a physician and now director of a Nakhodka insurance agency said that at least 1,800 of the city’s 180,000 people have contracted HIV, mostly through sharing needles. 

To help Nakhodka deal with its mounting health crisis, the Oakland Nakhodka Sister City Association (ONSCA) organized this week’s program for the medical professionals to meet with local health providers, school officials and nonprofit administrators. 

ONSCA also hopes to sponsor a future delegation of Nakhodka drug experts to get firsthand knowledge of local strategies to fight drug abuse. 

To prepare for that visit, two local doctors visited Nakhodka earlier this year to study possible improvements to the city’s health care system. Working with the American doctors, ONSCA hopes to win grant money to begin a youth drug abuse prevention program in the Russian city.  

While they are hoping to make a difference for the residents of Nakhodka, local sister city members remain humble about their mission. 

“We understand that the poor record of U.S. society in stemming drug abuse certainly does not entitle us to a holier-than-thou attitude,” said Bonnie Hamlin. “Nonetheless, we do have experience that may be valuable to share with the citizens of Nakhodka for our mutual benefit.” 

The visiting medical professionals will tour the area through Nov. 20 and have planned visits to the Alameda County Public Health Department, Berkeley High School Health Center, the Oakland Emergency Medical Services Department, La Clinica de la Raza and the HIV-AIDS department at Children’s Hospital.