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PRESS RELEASE
Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) – Yerevan Office
53-55 Pavstos Byuzand Street, 375010
Yerevan, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Inessa Grigoryan
Tel: (+374 10) 522076; 562068
Fax: (+374 10) 522076
E-mail: igrigoryan@coafkids.org
Web:

Children of Armenia Fund – New York Office
162 Fifth Avenue, Suite 902,
New York, NY 10010, USA
Contact: Anna Sargsyan
Tel: 212 – 994 – 8234
Fax: 212 – 994 – 8299
E-mail: asargsyan@coafkids.org
Web:

COAF Conducts Community Health Education Classes in the Model Cluster

Armavir District, Republic of Armenia, November 22, 2006 ¾ As part of
its Community Health Education Program (CHEP), the Children of Armenia
Fund (COAF) recently completed a series of educational classes in the
communities that constitute the Model Cluster. The Program included
ten-day training in first aid, healthy lifestyle, child healthcare,
hygiene and vaccination, prenatal care, prevention of cervical and
breast cancer, and management and prevention of common diseases. These
classes were targeted for teachers and community volunteers.
Additionally, six-day training was conducted especially for educating
the youth. Participants are expected to form active groups and, in
turn, conduct peer training in schools and community youth clubs.

COAF’s major partner in the implementation of CHEP was FIDEC (Fighting
Infectious Diseases in Emerging Countries), a US-based non-profit
organization operating in Latin America and Armenia. In collaboration
with FIDEC, COAF completed Microbac training to raise awareness of
nurses and teachers of issues related to hygiene and vaccination.

Subsequently, with the assistance of trained health staff and COAF
support, a number of events were organized for pre-school and elementary
school children, during which children became better-informed on these
topics through visual aids and various illustrative techniques. The
Program also included distribution of colorful books, which had been
translated into Armenian and published for wider dissemination by FIDEC.
On events day, the children had prepared short performances on these
topics and were awarded prizes for their participation.

Parallel to CHEP, a series of anti-smoking campaigns were launched in
Karakert and Argina, with the other four villages to follow in the
coming weeks. Presentations and performances by the schoolchildren were
devoted to discouraging both children and parents from smoking, provided
statistical data on the harms of smoking and examples of the health
problems from active and passive smoking.

_______________________
FIDEC (Fighting Infectious Diseases in Emerging Countries) is a US-based
non-profit organization that supports health care programs and aims at
fighting infectious diseases. Its members include physicians, scientists
and other health care professionals. FIDEC’s focus is on improving the
health of people in emerging countries by preventing and reducing the
adverse impact of infectious diseases through educational campaigns for
communities and for institutions.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress