The Kainuu Medical Association has awarded Raisa Mäkäräinen for developing a new type of health product. According to the award criteria, Vaicute cream, which moisturizes the mucous membranes of the pubic area, is a health product made from pure ingredients from Kainuu and approved for nationwide pharmacy distribution. It can be found, for example, at a hairdresser's while browsing a women's magazine.
The physical form of the award is a small Venus statue that was waiting for Mäkäräinen when he returned home to Kajaani from a skiing holiday.
"It was a great surprise. I hear it's somewhat unbelievable that a private doctor would work like this in his free time and develop a new health product," says Mäkäräinen.
The Roman goddess Venus is most often associated with love and beauty. Wikipedia knows that Venus was originally the goddess of vegetation and the protector of vineyards and gardens ‒ and this fits perfectly with Vaicute products: the main ingredient in Vaicute vaginal cream is red clover from Kainuu , and the latest Vaicute product, a skin care oil, is extracted from spruce cones from Kainuu .
Raisa Mäkäräinen is also praised by her colleagues as the creator of the Sairaan hyvä film festival . In addition to the films, the festival program has included discussions with film directors and health experts, including Archibald Risto Pelkonen. The film festival, organized by the Kainuu Medical Association in Kajaani, was first held in 2008 and last in January 2020, just before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.► Also read the personal interview about Raisa Mäkäräinen's life published in Anna magazine