The Russian government approved a $3-billion program on Thursday to fight diseases such as diabetes, AIDS and tuberculosis in the hope of curbing the country's falling population levels.

Life expectancy for a Russian man is 59 years, 18 years shorter than in Canada. For Russian women, the life expectancy is about 72, compared to 82 in Canada. 

Medical experts say unhealthy lifestyles are to blame, citing the country's high rates of smoking, alcohol abuse and rising levels of IV drug use and suicide.

The five-year program to reduce deaths was announced as the government's statistics agency said Russia's population dropped by more than 560,000 last year, to 142.2 million.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also tried to spur the country's birthrate by paying subsidies to parents having a second child, but deaths remain higher than births.

Rates of tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and other infections have increased since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Drug addicts, alcoholics and prisoners have been particularly hard hit.

HIV infection levels have nearly doubled in Russia since 2001, according to health charities.

Migrant workers also showed higher infection rates after Soviet-era health checks for migrants were scaled back.

"We were shocked with the numbers," Health Minister Mikhail Zurabov was quoted by RIA Novosti news agency as saying.

"One in 10 of our working migrants suffer from one infectious disease or another, such as tuberculosis, AIDS and hepatitis," he said, referring to a recent investigation.

Many migrants come from Central Asia and other parts of the former Soviet Union.

With files from the Associated Press