TAKING CARE OF PUBLIC HEALTH CONSIDERED AS MATTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY IN ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan
Apr 06 2007
YEREVAN, APRIL 6, NOYAN TAPAN. This year’s motto of World Health Day,
April 7, is "Let’s Build a Secure Future by Making Investments into
Health." As Elizabeth Danielian, Head of Armenian Office of World
Health Organization (WHO), said at the April 6 press conference,
healthcare systems are links of control over possible healthcare or
security crisis. In her words, weak and unready healthcare system
becomes the weak link of the response chain and hampers implementation
of efficient measures.
RA Deputy Minister of Health Tatul Hakobian said that one of the
main directions of policy adopted by the Ministry should be public
health, the main responsible of which, however, is not only the
Ministry. "Taking care of public health should be the result of
cooperation of various departments and individuals," the Deputy
Minister said. He called all structures, entrepreneurs, individuals
for making more investments in the healthcare system, which is the
guarantee of healthy future of the next generation.
Lilit Avetisian, Head of State Hygienic and Anti-epidemiological
Inspection’s Infectious and Non-infectious Diseases Department,
said that taking care of public health has been always considered
as a matter of national security in Armenia. She said that RA bill
"On Providing Security of Public Health" has been worked out. The
bill, in particular, includes points regarding agitation of healthy
way of life, implementation of hygienic education, compulsory medical
examination. L. Avetisian also said that there are primary healthcare
problems in the country: in particular, the Ministry implements a
number of measures for liquidating the local cases of those diseases.