WELCOME SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT

Dear colleagues!

The Russian Association of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (RAACI) was established during the turbulent period – in 1994, after the USSR's collapse. At that moment, the Union's Scientific Society of Immunology (USSI) with its President R. V. Petrov and Senior Vice-President R. M. Khaitov lost its validity.

The law prescribed public organizations to choose the structure of association, since it could include societies, branches and other professional units, while remaining a consolidating link. At that time, the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (est. in 1951, EAACI) was already operating, with member experts from 121 countries; the International Union of Immunological Societies (est. in 1969, IUIS), bringing together 70 national societies of immunologists, and the World Allergy Organization (est. in 1951, WAO), with 89 regional and national societies of experts in allergology and clinical immunology.

Thus, it was resolved back in 1994 to establish the Russian Association of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (RAACI), the legal successor of USSI (President R.M. Khaitov, Honorary President R.V. Petrov).

The core focus of the new professional community has been identified as accumulation and dissemination of expertise, harmonization of interactions between fundamental science and clinical practice, and better patient care. Our top priorities include lifelong healthcare learning and upskilling programs, developing and updating clinical guidelines, establishing a professional standard of allergology & immunology.

RAACI faced tough times, but its membership has been strongly growing throughout these years. Today, the Association has gained international recognition. We take an active part in leading international organizations – the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) and the World Allergy Organization (WAO), we draw up consensus papers on nosology units together with global experts.

We keep up with your pace, dear colleagues. We adopt and promote not only scientific breakthroughs in medicine, but also embrace innovative IT technologies. The proof of this is the RAACI's open web portal with the latest scientific events, up-to-date (translated into Russian) information from global researchers with comments from Russian peers.

Our networking is getting more integrative, with the new opportunity of distant consulting on challenging clinical cases, routing patients to ensure therapeutic continuity across the regions.

We are committed to fast-paced growth, so we are looking forward to your offers and hope for active involvement!

Rakhim M. Khaitov, President of RAACI