Press Release: Free full-text online biomedical journals for Armenia’s scientists

Armenian Canadian Medical Association of Ontario
555 University Avenue, Room 6536B
Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8
Canada
Phone: (416) 813-6291
Fax: (416) 813-6334
Email: artur.gevorgyan@utoronto.ca
Web site:

The Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI,
) is a project administered by
the World Health Organization (WHO) in conjunction with the six
major journal publishers worldwide to provide free-of-charge
full-text access to institutions in developing countries. To
meet the criteria of free access, the country’s GNP per capita
has to be less than $1000 US; whereas institutions in countries
with GNP per capita $1000-3000 pay a fee of $1000 per year per
institution. Armenia is included in the list of countries eligible
for free access, as its GNP per capita is less than $1000 US
().

The Armenian Canadian Medical Association of Ontario (ACMAO) put
considerable effort in distributing information about the availability
of this resource. However, only 4 institutions from Armenia currently
have this most valuable scientific resource – American University
of Armenia, Emergency Scientific Medical Center, Yerevan State
Medical University (YSMU), Yerevan State University Library and the
University Hospital # 1, all located in Yerevan. The majority of
Armenian physicians and scientists are still unaware of this resource.

All research institutions, universities and hospitals in Armenia
qualify for free access through HINARI. All that is required is a
director, a librarian and a computer technician. As of July 12, 2005,
HINARI provides access to full- text articles from 2884 biomedical
journals.

We urge all Armenian biomedical and health care institutions to
register with HINARI by accessing
and following the registration requirements.