The 2010 Europe and Eurasia Health Vulnerability Analysis identifies those countries in the Europe and Eurasia (E&E) region of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) where health status is the poorest and where the transition to democracy and free market economies may be most vulnerable because of health factors.Tracking the region's health vulnerabilities informs our understanding of the social conditions of its countries and the economic and democratic transitions taking place within the region. Poor health diminishes society's productive capacity, deteriorates the strength of civil society, and tarnishes people's perceptions of the benefits of democracy and free market economies. Poor health is, therefore, not only a threat in its own right; it is also a threat to economic and democratic progress.

The analysis also highlights health issues that may warrant special or increased attention by United States Government (USG) policymakers.The seminal analysis of this type was conducted in 2003.This is the sixth report that provides USG policymakers and USAID health staff in E&E countries and Washington, D.C., with an overview of health status and vulnerability in the region.Today, it is all the more important to understand the impact of the current global economic crisis on the health spending of both donors and countries themselves and the quality of health in E&E countries. Given the growth in infectious diseases alongside high levels of adult mortality, the impact of the economic crisis is of increasing concern.

This analysis shows the general health picture across 29 E&E countries, 14 of which - Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, and the five Central Asian republics (CAR)* of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan - currently receive USAID health funding.The analysis is based on readily accessible data that are regularly provided by international organizations, thus permitting comparisons among countries, and is most useful for comparing subregions within E&E.This enables the E&E Bureau and USAID Missions to raise awareness of major health issues relevant to the region.

The foundation of this analysis is a Health Vulnerability Index that ranks the health status of E&E countries using aggregated data for six indicators.Annex A defines these six indicators and explains the rationale for choosing them.The report analyzes recent health trends in E&E using these indicators, making comparisons with E&E's former "Northern Tier" subregion (comprising the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia) and the 27 members of the European Union in 2007 (EU-27) to see how well E&E countries and subregions are progressing relative to these "ideals" for the region.

Overall, the 2010 analysis finds the five most vulnerable countries in terms of health to be Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan. Excluding the CAR countries, the five most vulnerable E&E countries are Russia, Ukraine,Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Georgia.