Editor’s Note: Through the support and cooperation of UNICEF, and USAID through its IREX CMSPA, these articles were produced in an eight-page supplement (in Armenian) distributed in 15,000 copies through 8 newspapers in Armenia. In the coming months, it is our hope to produce a series of special editions which will similarly be distributed. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of USAID or UNICEF.
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Make Health Matter: A summary of conditions and concerns
It takes healthy people to make a healthy nation.
As measures are taken to make Armenia stronger politically (national elections this May and next February), economically (double-digit growth in GDP for six years), socially (with a slowly but surely emerging middle class), etc., the strength of the republic and of the hope of its future are essentially linked to the health of its citizens.
The 15 years since independence have seen dramatic changes in the availability of medical treatment for Armenians. While it is true that the privilege of privatized care is a burden too heavy for the large number of socially vulnerable, even many State-provided facilities now offer conditions and procedures previously beyond the scope of Armenian medicine.
Yet, while better care for ailments, disease, trauma, and even effective procedures for infertility have transformed treatment in Armenia, broadly speaking, the country still lacks a tradition of individual attention to preventative maintenance.
Whether neglecting to get eye exams until the world goes dark, or shunning vital vaccinations due to misguided skepticism, or choosing the convenience of infant food formula while ignoring the immediate and long-term benefits of breastfeeding, health suffers when protecting it is an afterthought.
Through this series of articles the hope of this publication and its sponsors is that public awareness will be elevated and that the outcome will be better health for those who read these pages.
These are not investigations, nor exposes – though some of the topics merit full editions on their own. Rather, the summary approach is intended as a reminder of some of the major health issues facing the nation, and a report on the newer concerns (environmentally-related disease, for example) that should be attended lest future generations suffer needlessly.
John Hughes
Director, New Times Journalism Training Center
Editor, ArmeniaNow.com internet journal
Marianna Grigoryan
Deputy Editor
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