Mother and Child Health Armenian Alliance proclaims the spring of success

Armenia - Pressures from the Mother and Child Health Armenian Alliance led the government of Armenia to recently announce an investment of 7bn AMD (18.13 million dollars) to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare services for children, especially in the rural and marginalized communities where under-five mortality rates are almost twice as high as among urban population.

This investment will help achieve the Millenium Development Goals 4 and 5 aiming to reduce child and maternal mortality and will address the needs for more medical personnel and proper facilities.

Initiated by World Vision Armenia through its Child Health Now campaign, the Mother and Child Health Armenian Alliance represents 44 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that seek to influence national healthcare policy makers through advocacy campaigns. The goals are to increase the expenses on healthcare, improve health policies and promote state policies on breast feeding in Armenia.

 “We need to merge our efforts and work effectively to reach the MDG 4 and 5. Through the NGOs working in the rural regions of Armenia, the Ministry of Health learns about the local healthcare issues, hence is able to be more receptive to solving the identified problems,” said Karine Saribekyan, head of the Mother and Child Protection Unit in the Ministry of Health of Armenia.

“We value the extensive expertise of local and international NGOs such as Save the Children, Oxfam and others also because they contribute to the development of civil society in Armenia,” she added.

 “Oxfam has been working in Armenia since 1994 and has its solid investment in the countries healthcare development. With our presence in the remote regions of the country we keep a sharp eye on protecting the health of the most vulnerable people, especially women. Mother and Child Health Armenian Alliance makes us even stronger in pursuing our pledge,” said Margarita Hakobyan, country director of Oxfam GB Armenia.  

“It was our understanding that by uniting several organizations, our efforts would be more effective both for the country and the authorities responsible for creating healthcare policies in Armenia. The Alliance can already witness certain achievements and this is just the beginning,” said Naira Gharakhanyan, Child Health Now Campaign manager.

Thanks to more efforts of the Alliance, another achievement might be voiced next spring when the Members of Parliament will vote on the breastfeeding law. The draft of the law was officially circulated in the National Assembly in July, 2011 by some Members of Parliament. The Alliance, led by WV Armenia, supported a national signature campaign and letters were sent to all Members of Parliament, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health. As a result, National Assembly’s Legislative Research department and Government of Armenia provided their positive recommendations at the end of September 2011 to the draft in circulation.