USAID/Moscow is funding the Quality Assurance Project (QAP), implemented by The Center for Human Services (CHS),to work in healthcare quality improvement in the Russian Federation. The activities are conducted under the umbrella of the US-Russia Joint Commission on Economic and Technological Cooperation, Access to Quality Health Care priority areas. A recent increase in women below the age of ]9 and above the age of 35 giving birth has led to an increase in incidence of women suffering from Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension (PIH). In 1997, 18.4 percent of women who gave birth in Tver Oblast suffered from Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension and 23.5 percent in the Vishni Boloshok region. Of the 25 maternal deaths in the past three years, 8 were due to Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension. In addition, mothers with Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension have a higher rate of newborns with RDS and infant mortality. (excerpt)