Rumss original: all-russian public organization of disabled people with multiple sclerosis is the key russian ngo among smaller organisations representing people with ms and their families. Mission: to improve the quality of life of russian people with multiple sclerosis. Rumss puts forward, accumulates and guides activities of the general public, government, entrepreneurs and professional community. Rumss’ objectives are to: 1. Improve the quality of medical and social assistance for patients with ms. 2. Advocate for the legal safety of patients with ms and their families through legislation development and arranging a control system to observe it by authorities and profile institutions. 3. Organize cooperation with manufacturers to stimulate the production of high-efficient pharmaceuticals, equipment and rehabilitation facilities. 4. Promote training medical professionals on ms issues. 5. Promote and consolidate social partners’ efforts to negotiate ms as a problem. 6. Raise public awareness on ms as a problem and ways to resolve it. The major rumss principles are to promote the well-being of each person affected by ms, to be open to social partnerships, to be within the problem of ms, and competency. Today, the organization is represented in 75 constituents of the russian federation and numbers about 70,000 members. Taking into account the estimated number of patients diagnosed with ms in russia as 130,000 people, the rumss speaks for the interests of approximately 500,000 ms patients and their families and friends.
