For Immediate Release ~ January 23, 2008
Contact: Sarkis Kotanjian ~ 818-243-6222
Yerevan, Armenia - After an extensive, coordinated research with its partner organizations, Armenia Fund is pleased to announce the launch of an initiative aimed at revitalizing the veterinary services in the six border villages of Armenia’s Tavush Region. These communities are included in the Khashtarak cluster pilot program. The project will be implemented by the Strategic Development Agency NGO through the generous support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Izmirlian Foundation.
The current state of the veterinary services in the border regions falls well below internationally accepted standards. Thus, the present situation creates a difficult obstacle for cattle breeding and dairy production – two key economic activities of the region that will ensure long term sustainability .The local veterinarians lack the equipment and medicine necessary for quarterly vaccinations. Unfortunately, the farmers are on their own in the quest to find a running vehicle, in order to get to the regional center of Ijevan, purchase the medicine and take it back in time to the veterinarian. A delay in any of these services often results in the medicine being too little, too late and thus jeopardizes the well being of the animals.
In the impoverished villages, the veterinarian is seldom paid and provides most of the services as a “neighborly favor”. This means that in order to make ends meet, the veterinarian needs to look elsewhere for income, making the veterinary practice merely a philanthropic hobby.
The implementation of this initiative will tackle all these issues by creating a working mechanism. Apart from providing in depth trainings to veterinarians and farmers, this mechanism will ensure that veterinarians have their own stock of medicine and up to date equipment. After an initial support period of one year, the enterprise will be sustained via monthly payments made by the community members. These monthly payments constitute a fraction of the sum a villager spends each time he travels to the city to get medicine for his/her cattle and will also ensure a stable income to the veterinarian.
This project comes to life thanks to a three way partnership between Armenia Fund, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Izmirlian Foundation.
Armenia Fund, Inc., is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation established in 1994 to facilitate large-scale humanitarian and infrastructure development assistance to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. Armenia Fund’s main beneficiary project is the Rural Development Program, designed to help end rural poverty in Armenia’s remote regions. Armenia Fund, Inc. is the U.S. Western Region affiliate of "Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund. Tax ID# 95-4485698
