CEBU Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Dr. Vladimir Mikhailovich Moiseyenk, director of Napalkov Cancer Center in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on a future collaboration to develop “scientific, educational and innovative activities in the field of oncology.”
The signing happened on Thursday, June 6, 2024, as Garcia and other officials from Cebu are in Russia on official business. They were given a tour inside the Napalkov Cancer Center as Moiseyenko showed them their newly constructed outpatient facility that caters to cancer patients not only from Saint Petersburg but also from other places in the country.
Garcia said the prospect is exciting and beneficial for the Province of Cebu, which runs and operates four provincial hospitals, two island hospitals and 10 district hospitals.
Moiseyenko, the chief physician who runs the center, one of Russia’s leading cancer diagnosis and treatment establishments, is interested in enhancing this future collaboration with Cebu and the Philippines.
“We can talk further, communicate,” he told Garcia and Board Member Stanley Caminero, who chairs the committee on health in the Provincial Board and who is on the frontline of this future collaboration.
This collaboration will include the continuous exchange of knowledge, scientific information and practical skills that could help both parties especially in dealing against oncological diseases or cancer.
Napalkov Cancer Center is one of the largest research and treatment centers in Russia that provides exceptional specialty medical care, while its scientists and researchers explore the methods for prevention, detection and treatment of cancer.
The center began as the Institute of Oncology, founded on March 15 1927. It is one of the oldest medical institutions in the North-Western Federal District of Russia that proudly bears the name of its founder, Nikolai Pavlovich Napalkov, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert and is hailed as the father of oncology in Russia.
The signing of the memorandum of understanding is among the official tasks that the provincial officials tackled during their visit to Russia, on top of which is to attend the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2024).
On Tuesday, Garcia also signed a memorandum of agreement with the governor of Saint Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, renewing the sister-region agreement that was first signed in 2009, on cooperation and collaboration for the two regions in the field of business, tourism, arts and culture, health, education, including sports. (Capitol PIO)
