Armenia Health

Free health care was available for all children through age 8 for treatment of some diseases and for emergency care, but care often was of poor quality, and the practice of demanding overt or concealed payment of fees for medical service continued. Boys and girls had equal access to health care. ...

Prison conditions remained poor and posed a threat to health. Holding and detention cells were overcrowded, and most did not have toilets. Prison authorities did not provide most inmates with basic hygienic supplies. According to the newly formed Civil Society Monitoring Board (CSMB), prisoners remained at a high risk to contract tuberculosis, and adolescents held in juvenile facilities rarely were provided with the schooling required by law. The CSMB also reported that, in certain jails, prisoners paid bribes to move into single occupancy cells and to obtain additional comforts. In some prisons, monitors noted that prisoners had difficulty mailing letters and that some prison officials did not facilitate family visits adequately. ... [Read More]

Armenia

The Constitution provides citizens with the right to clean and safe work places, but Soviet-era occupational and safety standards remain in force. Labor legislation from 1988 places responsibility on the employer and the management of each firm to ensure "healthy and normal" labor conditions for employees, but it provides no definition of healthy and normal. The employment situation is such that workers are reluctant to complain or remove themselves from hazardous working conditions due to the risk of losing their jobs. ... [Read More]

Armenia

There is no specific law banning violence against women and a few cases of spousal abuse, or other violence against women were reported during the year; however, such violence is believed to be more widespread than statistics indicate. According to an opinion poll conducted in 2000 by a local NGO, 50 percent of Armenian women have been victims of domestic violence, although other local NGOs claimed that the percentage is lower. The problem of battered wives is much more widespread than the Government or local human rights groups would admit. Many cases were not reported to police because victims were afraid of physical harm if they did so, fearful that police would refuse to take action and instead return them to their husbands, or embarrassed to make "family matters" public. Embarrassment and concerns for family honor made the problem particularly sensitive and difficult to quantify; women's groups and health professionals also declined to offer specific figures. The Proc ... [Read More]

U.S. Assistance to Armenia – Fiscal Year 2004

The U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) social reform programs provide technical support to a centralized data administration center to improve the administration and tracking of Armenia's poverty family benefits. U.S. Government technical assistance will help the Ministry of Labor and Social Issues design, administer, and distribute a new social security card to ensure that benefits flow to the unemployed and the needy. USAID’s health programs are working to strengthen national institutional capacity for Primary Health Care reform and to reinvigorate the provision of primary health care services at the facility level in order to meet immediate needs of Armenia’s population. ... [Read More]

IV. Country Narratives: Europe and Eurasia

While the Ministry of Health was formally tasked with anti-trafficking coordination, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informally coordinated anti-trafficking policy through an inter- agency task force. Part of the government’s funding to NGOs was targeted to prevention programs, but there were no demand-oriented prevention activities. The government funded the production of an informational leaflet aimed at the general public, as well as media announcements on the trafficking of women and children. Some medical students used government-funded leaflets on trafficking when conducting their sexual education courses at secondary schools. ... [Read More]

Armenia

The Constitution provides citizens with the right to clean and safe workplaces. Soviet-era occupational and safety standards remained in force; however, in practice conditions were very inconsistent. Labor legislation places responsibility on the employer and the management of each firm to ensure "healthy and normal" labor conditions for employees, but it provides no definition of healthy and normal. Workers are reluctant to complain or remove themselves from hazardous working conditions as they risk losing their jobs. ... [Read More]

International Adoption Armenia

Internet: http://web.sanet.ge/usembassy After the I-600 petition is approved, adoptive parents must contact the Immigrant Visa Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, to schedule a visa interview. Parents should not make final, non-refundable travel plans for return to the United States until they have their child's immigrant visa in hand. A consular officer is required to review each adoption case carefully and make an independent determination of the child's eligibility for a visa. This includes another review of the orphan status of your child, the child's medical information, and in the unlikely event a child will be receiving an IR-4 ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

Azerbaijan is primarily a country of origin and transit for women and children trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Azerbaijani, Russian, Ukrainian, and Central Asian women and girls were trafficked from or through the country to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), Turkey, Pakistan, and India. Internal trafficking of women and girls appeared to be an increasing problem. There were some reports of men trafficked to neighboring countries (e.g., Turkey and Russia) for forced labor. The Government of Azerbaijan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The Government of Azerbaijan is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for a second consecutive year because of its inability to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking over the reporting period. The government’s e ... [Read More]

Armenia (04/05)

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A booklet entitled Health Information for International Travel (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800. ... [Read More]

Armenia

Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747); fax 1-888-CDC-FAXX (1-888-232-3299), or via the CDC’s Internet site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization’s (WHO) website at http://www.who.int/en. Further health information for travelers is available at http://www.who.int/ith. ... [Read More]