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  • Info-Flash

    AMIC's INFO-FLASH
    2340 Chemin Lucerne, # 30
    Ville Mont-Royal, Quebec
    H3R 2J8, Canada
    Tel : (514) 739 8950
    Fax : (514) 738 2622
    Web: www.amic.ca
    Email: [email protected]

    The AMIC Newsletter, April, 2004

    1. Article 1 : AMIC's General Assembly
    2. Article 2 : "Reproductive Health Trends In Eastern
    Europe And Eurasia"
    3. Article 3 : A message from Lebanon
    4. Article 4 : News from our associations
    5. Article 5 : What is AMIC?




    1- AMIC's General Assembly

    AMIC's annual General Assembly will be held this year in Toronto from May 27
    to May 29. It will mainly focus on the preparations of the 9th World Medical
    Congress that will take place in San Francisco from June 29 to July 3, 2005,
    and the AMIC Journal. The publisher of the Journal having changed his
    previous business model for a new one, the members have to discuss the
    matter and come up eventually with a final decision.


    2- "Reproductive Health Trends In Eastern Europe And
    Eurasia"

    (AMIC office has received this report dated September 2003, from the
    "Population Reference Bureau" located in Washington, DC. Info-Flash is
    presenting to its readers the data and facts concerning Armenia, and (for
    some of them) the neighboring Caucasus countries).


    "In the past decade, countries in Eastern Europe and Eurasia have undergone
    economic and social transformations that have affected virtually every
    aspect of life, including health. By some measures, women's reproductive
    health has improved, as women in the region today are more likely to use
    modern contraception and less likely to have an abortion to prevent an
    unplanned birth. But rates of maternal and infant death are still
    unacceptably high, the use of preventive health services is low, and there
    is little awareness about other issues, such as how to prevent HIV/AIDS.
    This brief provides highlights of surveys taken in 11 countries since 1996,
    covering a wide range of women's health topics and providing in-depth
    information on attitudes and behaviors related to reproductive health.

    The report highlights survey results in 11 countries: four in Eastern Europe
    (Moldova, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine), three in the Caucasus (Armenia,
    Azerbaijan, and Georgia), and four in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz
    Republic, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan).

    The Context for Reproductive Health

    The countries profiled here share a common history, having either been part
    of the former Soviet Union or within its sphere of influence. These
    countries had modeled their health care after Russia's centralized,
    government-supported system, which provided universal health care to all
    citizens. The system promoted hospital-based care, creating a surplus of
    hospitals and specialists and a shortage of primary health care services.

    Prior to and during the transition from centrally controlled to market-based
    economies, the hospital-based system became too costly for governments to
    maintain; consequently, most hospitals lack modern equipment, drugs, and
    supplies. Health care systems deteriorated rapidly in the 1990s,
    contributing to lower use of preventive health services, including
    reproductive health care.
    Governments in all 11 countries are struggling with limited resources and
    emerging health problems. All of the governments continue to support health
    care, but many are turning parts of the system over to national insurance
    agencies or the private sector and may be leaving some population subgroups
    either uninsured or with minimum benefits.

    Selected Demographic and Social Indicators (I)

    Caucasus Pop. Rate of Nat. Increase
    Mid-2002 (%) a

    Armenia 3.8 0.2
    Azerbaijan 8.2 0.8
    Georgia 4.4 0.0


    Projected Total fertility
    Pop. change Rate 1998-99 c
    2002-2050 b
    (%)
    Armenia -17 1.7
    Azerbaijan 59 2.0
    Georgia -44 1.7

    a Rate of natural increase is the birth rate minus the death rate,
    implying the annual rate of population growth without regard to migration.

    b Projected population growth (or decline) is based on current assumptions
    about the likely path of fertility.

    c The average number of children that a woman would have during her
    reproductive lifetime, given present age-specific fertility rates. Fertility
    rates reflect the governments' estimates for 1998-99 with the exception of
    Armenia and Georgia. These have been revised upward based on DHS and RHS
    survey findings, respectively.


    During the 1990s, countries in the region experienced dramatic declines in
    fertility. By 2000, fertility rates in most countries were below replacement
    level, or 2.1 children per woman on average, the number needed to replace
    parents. If fertility remains below this level, a country's population will
    eventually decline (assuming there is no offsetting immigration).


    Selected Demographic and Social Indicators (II)

    Caucasus Life Expectancy Per capita
    In Years Income
    Male Female (GNI PPP) a
    (2000)
    Armenia 70 74 2 580
    Azerbaijan 69 75 2 740
    Georgia 69 77 2 680

    Health Expenditures Percent of Women
    per Capita b Enrolled in
    1990-98 Secondary School
    1993-97 c

    Armenia 27 79
    Azerbaijan 36 81
    Georgia 46 76

    a GNI PPP refers to gross national income converted to "international
    dollars" using a conversion factor for purchasing power parity.
    International dollars indicate the amount of goods and services one could
    buy in the United States with a given amount of money.

    b The sum of public and private expenditures on health divided by the
    country's population. Expressed in US dollars.

    c The ratio of the number of students enrolled in secondary school to the
    population in the applicable age group. It can exceed 100 when the number of
    students exceeds the population of that age group.


    Women throughout the region usually marry and begin having children earlier
    than women in Western Europe; childbearing peaks between ages 20 and 24 and
    drops off sharply after that. Little childbearing occurs after age 30 in
    these countries; women typically spend the rest of their reproductive years
    trying to avoid pregnancies. With population size stalled or shrinking, some
    policy-makers consider family planning programs unnecessary and
    counterproductive and instead advocate for measures to encourage women to
    have more children.


    Abortion Rates and Trends

    In most countries, abortions are most common among women ages 20 to 34.
    In seven of 11 countries surveyed, abortion levels declined during the
    1990s. Trends in abortion were measured by looking at the abortion rate 6 to
    8 years and 0 to 2 years before the survey. Abortion rates fell between 15
    percent and 38 percent - a marked change in a relatively short period. Most
    of the decline occurred among women under age 30 and was associated with
    increased use of modern contraceptives.




    Trends in Abortion Rates in Armenia and Azerbaijan

    Armenia 6-8 years before survey 0-2 years bef. survey
    (2000) 3.1 2.5

    Azerbaijan 2.3 2.9
    (2001)

    Links Between Contraception and Abortion

    In all of the surveyed countries, there is a clear relationship between abor
    tion and use of traditional contraceptive methods: the greater the ratio of
    traditional methods to all methods used, the higher the level of abortion
    tends to be. A simulation using data from Armenia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz
    Republic, and Uzbekistan showed that if women using traditional methods and
    those using no method but seeking to avoid a pregnancy were to use modern
    contraception, abortion rates would decline by between 55 percent and 64
    percent, more than halving the number of abortions in those countries.

    Infant Health: New Data on Mortality

    As the health of mothers and their infants is linked and they depend on
    similar health services, infant mortality rates are also considerably higher
    in the region than in Western Europe.


    Infant Mortality Rates in Selected Countries

    Death to infants under age 1 per 1000 live births

    Armenia 36
    Georgia 42
    Azerbaijan 74

    As in other parts of the world, the surveys revealed that children born to
    less-educated mothers or born less than two years after a sibling's birth
    were more likely to die as infants..

    This report is based on "Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health in Eastern
    Europe and Eurasia: A Comparative Report" by the Centers for Disease Control
    and Prevention and ORC Macro. The full 238 page report can be obtained by
    contacting CDC: Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control
    and Prevention, Mail Stop K-23, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, Atlanta, GA 30341,
    U.S.A.
    Tel: 1 770 488 6200. Fax: 1 770 488 6242. E-mail: [email protected]


    3- A message from Lebanon

    Dr. Paul Delyferian, the president of the "Armenian Medical Association of
    Lebanon" received a message from the Alumni of the St-Joseph Faculty of
    Medicine of Beirut, requesting any information regarding the whereabouts of
    some 50 Armenian physicians who are thought to be either in Europe (France)
    or in the US and Canada. Below are the names of the ones who have not been
    located yet, and we ask any of our readers who might know them, to give any
    information they have either to the AMIC office ([email protected], tel 1 (514)
    739 8950) or to Dr. Paul Delyferian ([email protected]) .

    Antablian Sarkis, Arslanian Bernadette, Berberian Georges, Berberian John,
    Bourdoukian Georges, Djanian Henry, Emirkhanian Hofsep, Essayan Alain,
    Garabedian Garabed, Garevorian Haroutioun, Guzelian Joseph, Hagopian Taline,
    Hekimian Nivart, Ichkhanian Arsene, Kahvedjian Agop, Kazandjian Seta Rita,
    Kazopoulo-Soublian Micheline, Moumdjian Gaspard, Nadjarian Nazareth,
    Oughourlian Jean Michel, Ouzounian Sona, Potoukian Tosbath Matik, Roumoulian
    Caroline, Sabondjian Agop, Saboundjian Haroutioun, Simonian Josephine,
    Sultanian Seta Siran, Tchavdarian Jeanette, Topdjian Noubar, Tutundjian
    Berge.


    4- News from our associations

    - Lebanon

    In March, Dr. S. Avakian , the president of the "Armenian Bone Marrow Donor
    Registry" was in Lebanon to launch a campaign for recruiting new names (and
    blood samples) of donors for the Registry. The Armenian Medical Association
    of Lebanon and the Armenian Embassy (in Lebanon) organized the event. The
    blood testing went on until April.

    - A collaboration to cover the dental needs of the Karabagh population.


    A collaborative action has been going on between the Armenian Medical
    Associations of Ontario (ACMAO) and Quebec (AMAQ), the Armenian Dental
    Association of Lebanon (ADAL), the Armenian International Dental Association
    (AIDA) and others (see below) to organize, fund, create and manage dental
    clinics all over the major towns and villages of Karabagh. The campaign
    spearheaded by Dr. Zareh Ouzounian (an endodontist from Toronto, and a
    member of AMIC's Executive,) started a few years ago when he worked hard
    with ACMAO to open the first dental clinic in Shoushi. An apartment given by
    the municipality was renovated, transformed into a clinic, equipped with the
    needed dental tools and medicines and ready to offer free services to the
    population of the surrounding area. The salary of the dentist and an
    assistant paid for by the sponsoring association.
    The experience being a success, Dr. Ouzounian began receiving requests to
    offer the same kind of services to other villages and towns. He was able to
    mobilize the above-mentioned associations, as well as others, and a
    wonderful collective effort was put in place, to build clinics in Hadrut
    (ACMAO and AMAQ), opened in July 7, 2003, in Lachin (sponsored by the Boston
    Armenian Dental Association, with the help of ADAL and UMAF-Lyon).
    The other planned clinics will be located in Martuni, Martakert. A mobile
    clinic is also in the plans.
    The collaboration of other dental associations, or individual dentists is
    encouraged, so that more clinics, this time in Armenia, are opened. The
    logistic support will be provided.

    Fund raising events will take place in June in both Toronto and Montreal
    with two concerts by the LUYS group, an "a cappela" formation of 5 singers,
    brought especially from Armenia for the event.

    AMIC is not only proud of the whole program, but sees in this collective
    action a model to be followed by other member associations, and a perfect
    example of what AMIC stands for.

    5 - What is AMIC?

    The Armenian Medical International Committee was created fourteen years ago.
    It is an umbrella organization that unites Armenian medical associations
    throughout the Diaspora, creating thus a large network through which
    information and data are exchanged.
    AMIC organizes Armenian Medical World Congresses. So far eight have been
    held in different cities of the Diaspora. In 2003, "The First International
    Medical Congress of Armenia", organized by Armenia, was held in Yerevan from
    July 1 to July 3.
    The 9th AMIC Congress will be held in 2005 (from June 29 to July 3), in
    San Francisco (USA). You can have the latest news by visiting the website
    http://9amwc.org

    AMIC publishes since 1998 an online newsletter and sends it freely to all
    Armenian Health Care professionals. If you are a health care professional
    and are interested in receiving Info-Flash, please send us your e-mail
    address ([email protected]) . To all those who already receive the Info, please
    do not forget to send us your new e-mail address when you change it.
    For further information visit our website: www.amic.ca

    A useful information to remember: you can send freely from wherever you are
    located, medical equipment/medicine through the services of the United
    Armenian Fund; President Mr. Harout Sassounian ([email protected])
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