Armenia OCHA No. 1 January 1999
HIGHLIGHTS Armenia grew 7.2 percent in 1998. USD 250-300 million of foreign investment are expected in 1999 The European Commission said it would grant 20 million euros (USD 23,63 million) in emergency relief aid to former Soviet republics to help ease the effects of Russias financial crisis. UMCOR, in collaboration with UNICEF and Ministry of Education and Science, implements Noahs Ark Programme, which includes two initiatives: Community Development to De-institutionalise Children, and Vocational Training for Children in Institutions UNHCR and UNDP signed a Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration with regard to integration of vulnerable refugees SITUATION OVERVIEW The economy of Armenia grew 7.2 percent in 1999 despite export fall, President Robert Kocharian told TV reporters. The 1998 budget was balanced by 96 percent, with tax revenues exceeding the projected size. Foreign currency in-comings dropped by USD 80-100 million in 1998. The President ascribed the circumstance partly to the lower exports to Russia and partly to the reduced private money transfers. The budget hit had been balanced by tax collection. The President said USD 210-250 million in foreign investments helped to compensate the negative effect of the Russian financial and economic crisis on the Armenian economy. According to the President, the Government is seeking new ways to encourage investments, and it is expected to raise USD 250-350 million of foreign investment this year. SECTORAL SUMMARY OF EVENTS Food Security/Agriculture The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) continues the implementation of its Monetisation programme. The objective of the programme is to develop the market for Armenian and American agricultural products through targeted sales of American products and by channeling the sale proceed to investment in Armenian agriculture. A significant portion of proceeds is also used in programmes that strengthen the primary health care system. UMCOR has been awarded a USD 1,900,000 monetisation programme for 1999, which will be for non fat dried milk. Proceeds will be used for the AREGAK microcredit programme. UMCOR will use the proceeds from the programme for its humanitarian aid projects. Cheese will be bought from local producers, which will be distributed to 12,126 people living in 73 institutions throughout the country. Each person will receive a daily ration of 40 grams of cheese over a nine-month period. Solidarite Protestante France-Armenia (SPFA) has been implementing humanitarian assistance programmes in the country since 1992. SPFA assists the most vulnerable population, lonely, elderly people through a soup kitchen programme. Two soup kitchens are operating in Giumri, Shirak marz, which target 200 beneficiaries. Clothes, medicine, hygienic kits are also provided to those people. SPFA has planned to organise nine showers for the beneficiaries during the programme period that will last three months, and currently is looking for financial assistance to realise it. A mission from the World Food Programme (WFP) Headquarters visited Armenia from 15 to 20 January to assess the current economic situation in the country and to review WFPs activities and to outline future plans and activities. The mission held discussions with Government officials, UN Agencies and other counterparts to assess the need for WFP to continue food aid to the most vulnerable people. Health, Nutrition and Sanitation UMCOR, in collaboration with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), is implementing the Primary Health Care Development project in selected rural communities in the marzes of Tavoush, Lori, Shirak and Siunik, which have been affected by the earthquake and conflict. The project is managed in a tandem with UNDP programme, Integrated Support to Sustainable Human Development. Training has been provided for 51 health care providers in Shirak marz, and 32 in Siunik marz. Topics covered included first aid, family planning, sexually transmitted diseases, childhood diseases, chronic heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, public health, epidemiology, occupational diseases, home health care and mental health. Medical equipment and furniture for the renovated clinics have been procured. Pharmaceuticals have been received and inventoried. Those materials will be delivered to villages after completion of the renovation works. Assessments have been carried out in Tavoush marz. Villages will be selected for the programme based on those assessments. The UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) sponsored the Education Centre of the National Institute of Health to conduct Paediatric Health Care Training for health personnel from 60 institutions under the Ministries of Education and Science, Social Welfare, Internal Affairs, and Health. Upon completion of the course each participants received a health kit containing drugs and other medical supplies. UNICEF reprinted two books on breasfeeding, which have been translated into Armenian and first printed in 1994. The books will be distributed to health workers in maternities and womens consultation centres according to a plan to be developed jointly with the Ministry of Health. Education, Training and Child Care In December 1998, UMCOR started to implement the Noahs Ark Programme. In collaboration with the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the Ministry of Education and Science, and informed by the Childrens Initiative of the World Bank, the programme responds to studies, which show that there are almost 10,000 children residing in special institutions in the country. Approximately 90 percent of those children live in the institutions because their families cannot afford to feed, clothe and educate them. The programme includes two initiatives, which are designed to operate in the Lori marz with the goal of returning children to their homes and villages with families equipped to support them. The programme of Community Development to De-institutionalise Children will focus on deinstitutionalisation of children by providing community development and food security programmes for families of children who are institutionalised or about to be institutionalised because of economic vulnerability. The programme will be implemented in the towns of Stepanavan and Alaverdi. Within the programme of Vocational Training for Children in Institutions, young people living in two institutions in Vanadzor, will be trained for work (primarily agricultural) opportunities, which are currently available in the country. They will be linked with agricultural based villages, which can become their homes at the age when they must leave the institution. The programmes are funded by UNICEF and UMCOR Monetised Funds. UNICEF is supporting a national NGO, Bridge of Hope, which is a local coordinator of Mental Disability Rights International, to conduct advocacy training for policy-makers and NGOs working for disabled and refugee children. At the first 3-day workshop 35 people out of planned 60 were trained representing the Ministry of Education and Science, and NGOs. The objective is to select about 20 trainees to participate in a two-week training for trainers workshop, which will provide skills to become advocacy trainers for NGOs. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the co-sponsor of the project. Shelter In January, UNHCR completed and distributed 170 apartments to refugees in Goris, Chambarak, Martuni and Artik. The Ministry of Social Welfare established a committee for selecting the beneficiaries of those sites. The committee members include representatives of the Government, trade union, national NGOs and UNHCR. Community Development and Income Support Activities UNDP, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science, started the implementation of the project, Generation of Financial Resources for Rural Schools in August 1998. The project has two components training and agricultural productive activities, which will form the overall strategy for creation and further strengthening of the financial and economic potential of the affected rural community schools, modernisation of the rural public education system. Five rural schools in the Siunik and Shirak marzes were selected by the project. In August 1998, the communities of those marzes provided five hectares of arable irrigated land to each school. With the UNDP funds winter wheat seeds, fertilisers, disinfectants and other necessary materials were procured. The sowing activities were realised in September October 1998. During the preparatory assistance of the project, training courses on ecology, mechanisation and agronomy were organised for upper class students in the Siunik marz. The closing ceremony of this training courses was held on 27 January 1999 in the city of Goris, which was attended by the officials from the Goris municipality, communities of Kornidzor, Khndzoresk and Hartashen, schools, as well as UNDP, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and the UN Department of Public Information (UNDPI). The project will support selected rural schools in establishment of school kitchen-gardens through provision of required quantity and quality seeds and fruit tree seedlings. The received agricultural products will supplement the diet of the students. After harvesting the schools returns the received quantity of seed material to the project. The reimbursed seed material will be provided to other schools eligible for the project. The anticipated incomes will be left at the disposal of the schools to meet their own requirements. Particularly, it will be used for further implementation of productive activities, modernisation of specialised classrooms, organisation of sport and cultural events. The income will also be used for supporting the maintenance of the schools, which are being reconstructed by Integrated Support to Sustainable Human Development (ISSHD) project of UNDP. Within the framework of the ISSHD project, central heating systems, some furniture and materials will also be provided to the schools. Ten communities with the population of more than 12,000 people will be benefiting from the school rehabilitation sub-component of the ISSHD project. The rehabilitation of the schools is implemented with collaboration of the UNHCR, which funds the provision of the furniture for the rehabilitated schools. The ISSHD project also includes the components of restoration of 20 primary health care facilities in rural areas of the same regions, which is being implemented with the collaboration of UMCOR. The other components of the ISSHD project are building the capacities for governance in local and regional governing bodies, agricultural development, environmental rehabilitation (in cooperation with WFP), and disaster preparedness (in cooperation with UNICEF). The two projects encourage and promote the community involvement, participation and contribution. OTHER ISSUES The European Commission said it would grant 20 million euros (USD 23.63 million) in emergency relief aid to former Soviet republics to help ease the effects of Russias financial crisis. The aid would be used mainly to send fuel, food supplies and medicines to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Ukraine. Disaster Management Training Programme (DMTP) National Project, Sustainable Emergency Management and Communication Network was discussed at the UNDP Project Appraisal Committee meeting, which was held on 29 January and was chaired by the UN Resident Coordinator. Participants were the Head of the Emergency Management Administration under the Government of Armenia (EMA), other officials from the EMA, the National Survey of Seismic Protection, National Disaster Medicine Centre, National Stress Centre, as well as representatives from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Armenian Red Cross, UNDP and UNOCHA. The Project Manager presented the overall structure and the objectives of the project. The project is divided into two phases: Phase I will be implemented with the UNDP funding, whereas Phase II with expected donor contributions. The duration of each phase will be 12 months. The project aims at increasing the level of protection of population from natural risks and hazards through formulation and further implementation of a disaster management strategy, as well as increasing the level of preparedness of the national institutions to disasters occurring in Armenia and development of the National Programme of Disaster Management. The project was approved and would be signed upon the incorporation of comments, recommendations made by the participants into the project document. In January, UNHCR and UNDP signed a Memorandum of Understanding a framework for collaboration with regard to integration of vulnerable refugees. Refugees continue to constitute one of the largest and the most vulnerable groups in the country. The current challenge is to manage the integration of the refugees. Successful long-term refugee integration is tied to the development of programmes that promote the economic development of the communities where refugees live. Thus, UNHCR and UNDP have jointly reviewed the situation and concluded that joint efforts and cooperation could bring projects aimed at alleviating poverty amongst the poor sectors (including vulnerable refugees) of the population. New activities will be designed to support the Ministry of Social Welfare in assessing the development both an employment creation policy and activities, as well as work related legislation and standards, and a new poverty alleviation programme will be developed for the area populated by refugees. UNHCR and UNDP will also undertake a refugee poverty-assessment survey. Project proposals will be developed based on the outcome of the survey, needs assessment and work carried out through consultancies. On 26 January a newly established news agency Novoye Vremya, held a round-table discussion on matters related to refugees. Representatives of the Government, NGOs, mass media and UNHCR participated in the debate. Among the topics discussed included the issues of compensation, naturalisation, and social and economic situation of refugees. UNHCR is currently conducting an overview and assessment on its NGO capacity building programme in the Caucasus. A consultant from UNHCR Headquarters visited the country and met several national NGOs to discuss longer-term strategies for developing NGO sector in the field of refugee management. The Government of Armenia handed over an under-constructed building to the Pyunic Union of Disabled to set up a centre for social, physical and psychological rehabilitation of disabled people. An estimated amount of USD 1 million is required to reconstruct the building and start the operations of the rehabilitation centre. The Pyunic Union in Yerevan and the organisations US-based branch are seeking funding support in Armenia and abroad for this endeavour. A national NGO, Shogher Unions activity is focused on womens and childrens issues. The NGO has implemented a number of programmes targeting orphans and poor, unemployed women. It has also implemented educational programmes, psychological rehabilitation of children and their families in the earthquake zone, particularly in Shirakamut (former Nalband) village, which was the worst affected by the 1988 earthquake. Currently there are 2,596 people living in Shirakamut. The village has acute economic and social problems. The unemployment rate is high. Reconstruction of the school and the hospital buildings is required urgently. Shogher Union is looking for support from other organisations to address the basic needs of the village. Youth Club Aragast was founded by young Swiss and Armenian people in 1994. It organises activities for about 100 members. Some 20 volunteers run the programmes and work in the social field. Aragast promotes the idea of cultural and social sponsorship in the country. It offers its members the possibility to acquire new skills and experience in team organisation, leadership and community building. Aragast is a member of the UN Second World Youth Forum. Through its social initiatives, Aragast reaches out to vulnerable groups and at the same time live the idea of solidarity and promote social competence. Aragasts volunteers are involved with playing, painting and handicraft activities as well as hygienic programmes with the orphanage Zatik in Yerevan. Together with UNHCR, Aragast has initiated an educational and social integration programme for refugee children. Assisted by a psychologist from the Medicins sans Frontiers (MSF), Aragast is providing social integration for street children and young recalcitrant individuals in Yerevan. Childrens theatre and street painting sessions with orphans are part of Aragasts commitment for disadvantaged groups throughout the country. This report is available on the internet through RELIEFWEB: http://www.reliefweb.int United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs - Armenia Field Coordination Unit Yerevan, Armenia Ms. Knarik Kamalian Humanitarian Affairs Officer Tel./Fax: (003742) 151 749 Complex Emergency Response Branch (CERB) - Geneva Mr. Ernest Chipman - Chief Mr. Merete Johansson Tel.: (41 22) 917.1694 Fax: (41 22) 917.03.68 Emergency Liaison Branch (ELB)-New York Mr. David McLachlan-Karr Tel.: (1 212) 963.0226 Fax: (1 212) 963.1314 Information Service Ms. Therese Gastaut - Director Tel.: (41 22) 917.2300 Fax: (41 22) 917.0030 distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org appeal fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -