“Integrated community-based home care service provision and healthy ageing” program launch
On 5 October, at 11:00, Armenian and Swiss Red Crosses announced the launch of “Integrated community-based home care service provision and healthy ageing” program at ‘Tigran Mets’ hall of Armenia Marriott Hotel.
Dr. Mkhitar Mnatsakanyan, ARCS President, Artem Sargsyan, Jemma Baghdasaryan, RA Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Sergey Khachatryan, Deputy Minister of Healthcare, Jina Sargizova, Swiss Red Cross representative in Armenia, Seyran Petrosyan, Deputy Governor of Shirak Region, Arsen Darbinyan, Deputy Governor of Lori Region will attend the event.
In the frames of the program Armenian and Swiss Red Crosses signed a tripartite Memorandums of Understanding with the Ministries of Labor and Social Affairs and Healthcare.
ARCS implements “Integrated community-based home care service provision and healthy ageing” project with the cooperation and financial assistance of Swiss and Monaco Red Crosses. First phase of the project will be conducted till December 2019 in Shirak and Lori Regions.
The main goal of the Program is to improve health, wellbeing and quality of life of elderly, chronically ill and disabled persons, through a focus on active ageing and better access to well-functioning integrated medical and social services.
Dr. Mkhitar Mnatsakanyan, ARCS President, welcomed the guests. “Social and Health Care sphere is one of the most important directions of Armenian Red Cross Society operates, and using its experience and capacities, National Society is open and ready for large cooperation, including having an input in the Social and Healthcare sphere policy development. Considering very important the necessity of ensuring dignified live conditions for elderly and taking into consideration social protection and care provision issues in Armenia, due to the cooperation of Armenian and Swiss Red Crosses, ARCS has an opportunity to implement “Integrated community-based home care service provision and healthy ageing” program. On the way of improving accessibility of health and social services for elderly, we highly appreciate the cooperation in international, national and regional levels. I’d like to thank all our partners, particularly, RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, RA Ministry of Healthcare, RA Ministry of Territorial Administration, Shirak and Lori Regional Administrations for supporting us.
The components of the Program are the following:
As a result, community home care centers, mobile responding teams of nurses, home-helpers and volunteers will be created, and for active ageing advocacy at least ten active community groups will be shaped. The program gives a possibility to introduce a new model of elderly care into the mentioned Regions.
At the first phase, 200 beneficaries from 2 Regions, the most vulnerable, lonely elderly or old people living alone, people with chronic illnesses and disabilities will be involved.
The preliminary study revealed, that elderly and people with disabilites wish to have a dignified live, be independant as mush as possible, receive care and support at their own homes, actively participate in community live, having opportunity to implement their knowledge and skills.
This program is based on the positive experience of Swiss Red Cross on implementation of home care system and participatory community work in a number of countries (Bulgaria, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Moldova, and Kyrgyzstan), which shows that the combination of the two components is very important if we are interested to achieve long-term changes.
As an auxiliary organization to the Government in the humanitarian field, Armenian Red Cross Society, and a member of Red Cross and Red Crescent International Movement, using the reach experience and trust of the later, has been implementing various projects in all the territory of Armenia, always being by side of the most vulnerable.
Particularly in Shirak and Lori Regions, projects in Disaster Management, Population Movement and Social and Health Care directions are being implemented, strengthening community resilience, improving conditions of socially vulnerable groups and meeting their humanitarian needs.
