Bridging Public Health and Human Rights in Armenia

The gratitude I feel after such an incredible experience in my motherland is indescribable. After a year of conversations and planning, I cannot believe I can say that I've just completed my Tufts Global Health Experience in Yerevan, Armenia.

Throughout the last 5 weeks, I was given the chance to learn about Armenia’s healthcare system and the challenges faced in the rural regions of Syunik Marz. Because of the incredible work of the HENAR Foundation, I was able to get involved in a community health initiative focusing on the integration of Community Health Workers (CHWs) into Armenia’s Primary Healthcare (PHC) system. My focus was centered around improving healthcare access, chronic disease management, and mental health services. Additionally, my individual work contributed to researching tools that HENAR can utilize in the future to measure the effects of cumulative trauma on access to and prioritization of one's own healthcare. As Armenia has experienced genocide and continued border unrest as a landlocked country, my educational interests have been shaped to focus on healthcare and human rights in areas of conflict.

I want to thank Birthright Armenia,Narine Mkhoyan(Jobsite Manager), andSevan Kabakian (Director) for this invaluable opportunity, for warmly accepting me into the Birthright program, and for finding me a role completely in line with my interests in Armenia as a public health student.

Thank you to my HENAR - Health Network For Armenia colleagues and mentors,Araz Bourounsouzian,Byuregh K. and Dr.Henry Louis, for teaching me so much about the health sector in Armenia and the work that is being done to improve the lives of vulnerable populations. I am so inspired by the work that you have done and will continue to do.

To Tufts University Health Service, I can't thank you enough for allowing me the time away from the workplace to have this opportunity. Your constant support and encouragement for me to pursue my goals as a student while working full-time is appreciated so much more than you will ever know.

Lastly, I want to thank my advisors Dr.Ramnath Subbaraman andAlice Tang at Tufts University School of Medicine for dedicating their time, energy, and for the many conversations we shared to make this dream of mine become a reality.

I am excited to continue my master’s in public health with this new global health perspective, and eagerly await my return to Armenia again. Ես սիրում եմ քեզ, իմ գեղեցիկ Հայաստան.