World
Russia pushes sex-at-work scheme as population crisis escalates
The Kremlin’s top doctor this week encouraged all Russians to engage in a “sex-at-work” scheme in a move to back President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to counter a growing population crisis.
Despite cash incentives, tax breaks, a nationwide push to discourage abortions and Putin’s years-long attempt to encourage procreation across the country, Russia saw its lowest birth rate in the last quarter-century for the first six months of 2024, reports said following UN findings on worldwide population rates.
Speaking during a Eurasian Women’s Forum on Wednesday, Putin encouraged women’s role in the workplace, but he also reiterated his push for higher birthrates.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Eurasian Women’s Forum in Saint Petersburg, Russia September 18, 2024. (Sputnik/Grigory Sysoyev/Pool via REUTERS )
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“Proper conditions are being created for women to succeed professionally while remaining guardians of the hearth and lynchpins of large families with many children,” he said, according to report by Newsweek.
The Kremlin chief reportedly said that women can cope with the load of being both a career-woman and a mother because they “possess a secret that men are unable to fathom.”
When pressed by a female reporter about when women are supposed to find the time to manage a family, Russia’s Health minister Dr. Yevgeny Shestopalov said, “Being very busy at work is not a valid reason, but a lame excuse.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin hugs a crying baby as he greets local residents on March 6, 2020 in Ivanovo, 230 km east of Moscow. President Putin is having a one-day visit to Ivanovo. (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
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“There are people who work 12 to 14 hours – when do they make babies?” Shestopalov was asked, according to a report by Metro.
“You can engage in procreation during breaks,” he replied before adding, “Life flies by too quickly.”
Female Russian lawmakers, including politicians Anna Kuznetsova and Zhanna Ryabtseva joined in on the push by encouraging women to maximize their childbearing years by starting families once they turn 18.
One Russian Member of Parliament, Tatyana Butskaya, even encouraged employers to monitor the birth rates of their female staff members, reported Sky News Australia.
Women in Moscow between the ages of 18 and 40 are also being encouraged to receive fertility testing.
A woman and a child walk past an armoured vehicle at a military base in Perevalnoye, near the Crimean city of Simferopol March 21, 2014. (Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov)
“This new push for more Russian babies is consistent with the Russian government’s previous initiatives to improve demographics and increase the size of the future workforce,” former DIA intelligence officer and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” Rebekah Koffler, told Fox News Digital. “While the Kremlin portrays Russia’s declining birth rates in Russia as ‘disastrous,’ in reality Russia’s demographics is not much different from those of most industrial countries.”
The UN estimates that Russia’s population, which currently sits around 140.8 million, will fall by 10 million by 2054.
The United States Census Bureau reports that the number of children per woman in Russia is currently 1.5, though a birth rate of 2.1 is needed to sustain its current population rate, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, as reported by Newsweek.
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By Jorge Mitssunaga
May 16, 2026
World
WHO declares Ebola outbreak in Central Africa a public health emergency after 80 suspected deaths
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The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa an international public health emergency on Sunday after dozens of suspected deaths were reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Uganda.
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, the WHO said.
The declaration follows reports of 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases as of Saturday across at least three health zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.
The development comes as global health officials continue monitoring a rare hantavirus outbreak tied to the MV Hondius cruise ship, which left multiple passengers and crew members sick, and caused three deaths.
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A health worker sprays disinfectant on a colleague after working at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo, on Sept. 9, 2018. (Al-hadji Kudra Maliro/AP)
As of May 13, the WHO said 11 hantavirus cases had been identified in connection with the cruise outbreak, including eight confirmed cases, two probable cases and one inconclusive case.
In neighboring Uganda’s capital, Kampala, the WHO said two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases — including one death — were reported Friday and Saturday involving people who had traveled from the DRC.
Another laboratory-confirmed case was reported in the DRC capital of Kinshasa involving a person returning from Ituri province.
Initial tests suggested the outbreak does not involve the Ebola Zaire strain, which caused Congo’s devastating 2018–2020 epidemic that killed more than 1,000 people.
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Health workers wearing protective suits tend to an Ebola victim in an isolation tent in Beni, Congo, on July 13, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
However, unlike Ebola-Zaire strains, there are currently no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the Bundibugyo strain, which the WHO described as making the outbreak “extraordinary.”
The WHO warned the outbreak could be larger than currently reported due to the high positivity rate among initial samples and the growing number of suspected cases.
The outbreak also poses a public health risk to other countries, the WHO said, urging nations to activate emergency-management systems and implement cross-border screening measures.
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Ambulances parked at Bunia General Referral Hospital following confirmation of an Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 16, 2026. (REUTERS/Victoire Mukenge)
Ebola is a highly contagious and often fatal disease spread through bodily fluids, including blood, vomit and semen. Symptoms can include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and internal bleeding.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently said Congo has a “strong track record” responding to Ebola outbreaks while announcing the release of $500,000 in emergency funding to support containment efforts.
The WHO said it will convene an emergency committee to review recommendations for how affected countries should respond.
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Health workers dressed in protective gear begin their shift at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, Congo, on July 16, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
The organization did not recommend border closures or travel restrictions.
Congo has now recorded 17 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Brittany Miller, along with Reuters, contributed to this report.
Iran to reveal its plan for Strait of Hormuz soon as Israel attacks Lebanon and Gaza, killing and wounding dozens.
Published On 17 May 2026
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