WiRED International Celebrates 12 Years of Fruitful Partnerships in Armenia

By Allison Kozicharow; Edited by Elizabeth Fine

Introduction

This year WiRED International is proud to mark the 12th anniversary of our continuing community health education programs in Armenia. WiRED provides programs that allow doctors, healthcare workers and community members access to critical education to combat health issues relevant to Armenia’s underserved population.

WiRED’s work in Armenia today faces several obstacles:

• Poverty, lack of reliable medical information and an underfinanced healthcare system are creating health challenges for the people of this Eurasian country
• Turkey’s long-standing refusal to acknowledge the Armenian genocide and a recent war with Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh have resulted in Armenia’s troubled relationships with these neighbors
• Further, recent clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan have broken out now that Russia, Armenia’s former ally in that conflict, is distracted with the war in Ukraine
• Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Armenia has welcomed thousands of Ukrainian refugees seeking asylum, adding pressure to Armenia’s fraught healthcare system.

WiRED History in Armenia

In 2013 WiRED began work with an international team led by coordinator Sebouh Baghdoyan and joined by Dr. Ara Nahabidian to bring our health education programs to Armenia in response to the country’s healthcare troubles. By 2014 the operation was in full swing.

We jointly formed WiRED–Armenia, a partnership that together with Caritas–Armenia continues to this day teaching Armenians about healthy practices, harmful conditions, illness signs and symptoms that not only improve health but through prevention reduce the need for costly treatments.

Throughout our 12-year alliance WiRED–Armenia has conducted many group seminars on health using WiRED modules and tailored specifically to reflect pressing health concerns for Armenians. The team has also overseen the translation of 20 WiRED modules into Armenian, on the following topics:

• • • Diabetes
    • Thyroid diseases
    • COVID-19
    • Polio
    • Dental hygiene
    • High blood pressure
    • Quitting smoking
    • Anatomy
    • Anemia
    • Asthma

WiRED’s Future in Armenia

This year so far Armenian physicians, health experts and NGOs have conducted four lecture sessions to promote public health awareness among local people in various parts of the country.

According to Mr. Baghdoyan, these lectures “empower the healthcare community and enhance the knowledge of frontline workers in the healthcare sector. The overall aim of the lecture series is to contribute to WiRED’s efforts to train community health workers here in Armenia, using the organization’s modules that focus on public health and primary healthcare preparation.”

Participants’ responses in post-lecture questionnaires demonstrated that the series of lectures helped them

• to be more aware of their health problems,
• to monitor their health carefully and
• to consult a doctor immediately in case of early symptoms.

The future goal from the public’s positive response to the lectures will hopefully lead to a WiRED community health in worker training program launching in Armenia soon.