"Medicine Puts Out Fires, While Health Preservation Does Everything to Keep These Fires from Flaring Up" Moscow Discussed International Cooperation in Health Technologies and Active Longevity
A round table titled "Health Preservation in New Protocols of the State, Science, and Society" was held on September 18, 2026, at the World Trade Center. The event was part of the Second World Public Assembly "New World: Values That Unite," taking place in Moscow from September 18 to 19.
Participants discussed an integrated approach to the development of health preservation at the international level, joint projects and technology transfer between friendly countries, the integration of evidence-based medicine and wellness practices, as well as the preservation of national traditions while introducing innovations.
The discussion was attended by representatives of the medical, scientific, and expert communities from Russia, Egypt, Mali, Senegal, Armenia, and Iran. The moderators were Amir Mohamed Saleh, Dean of the Faculty of Physiotherapy at Cairo University, and Elena Shuraeva, Chair of the BRICS Health Coalition. The round table became the fourth in a series of joint discussions between the BRICS Health Coalition and the World Peoples Assembly dedicated to health preservation technologies. The hall also featured an exhibition of works by artists from Pakistan, Iran, Canada, and Russia, prepared by two galleries, and a selection of rare books, some of which survive in only one or two copies.
Opening the discussion, Elena Shuraeva outlined the key areas of joint work. According to her, health preservation must become an independent industry — with its own economics, personnel, standards, and training system: only in this way can national goals in the field of healthy longevity be achieved. Cooperation with foreign partners, she emphasized, must be a "two-way road," not a one-sided export: every country has its own unique methods, and it is very important to identify those that genuinely work and integrate them comprehensively into practice. Import substitution means not isolation but security and accessibility, so it is important to transfer domestic technologies to friendly countries together with standards, documentation, and support.
— As a physician and healthcare organizer, let me remind you: medicine puts out fires, while health preservation does everything to keep these fires from flaring up. Therefore, I believe that these two separate industries must help each other, — noted Elena Shuraeva.
The round table participants were welcomed by Oksana Drapkina, Director of the National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine of the Ministry of Health of Russia and Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as Vladimir Shabalin, President of the Russian Association of Gerontologists and Geriatricians and Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. A video greeting was delivered by Miao Jiajun, Deputy Chair of the BRICS Health Coalition for Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chairman of the International Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine Societies. Elena Shuraeva announced that, at his invitation, the BRICS Health Coalition became a co-founder of a community for the transformation of medicine and engineering, education, and science based at China's national medical centers.
Igor Ter-Ovanesyan — a legend of Soviet athletics, the only long jumper in history to compete at five Olympic Games, and the first European to clear the eight-meter mark — shared his own example of active longevity. He spoke about his path from athlete to head coach of the national team and sports administrator, and also presented his own paintings.
— My father told me: "Old age should be joyful." And I try to follow his precept, observing one mandatory condition — not to stop, to keep moving no matter what. Let it be just a walk in the fresh air, but every day, — shared the athlete.
Tatyana Alikberova, Doctor of Medical Sciences, clinical angiologist, phlebologist, vascular surgeon, and specialist in innovative ultrasound technologies, presented the concept of preventive personalized angiorehabilitation. According to her, the venous, arterial, and lymphatic systems must always be considered as a whole, and modern technologies make it possible to effectively engage in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases — the leading cause of death in the world.
— The great surgeon Pirogov also said that the future belongs to preventive medicine. Our therapy is universal, but prevention is individual, — emphasized Tatyana Alikberova.
The session participants agreed that active longevity is impossible without health preservation technologies, and the exchange of experience between countries makes it possible not only to find new solutions but also to expand the geography of partnership — from joint international centers to technology transfer and the introduction of preventive practices.
Additional information is on the official website of the World Peoples Assembly and at media@world-assembly.org.