MSF treats DR-TB cases

MSF handed over our last projects in Armenia in 2019.

In Armenia, MSF first worked in the country in 1988 to respond to medical needs following the Spitak earthquake, before treating people with drug-resistant tuberculosis with new, effective drugs. We closed our last projects in 2019.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, we provided medical and therapeutic care to children with a physical and/or mental disability, in a special education complex in Yerevan; this project was closed in 2004.

More recently, we focused on implementing new regimens for patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Armenia, which has one of the highest rates of the disease in the world. We had been working with the national tuberculosis programme in Yerevan, the capital, since 2005, before implementing our own programme to treat drug-resistant TB in 2015. This programme, which also included medical research, saw patients treated with bedaquiline and delamanid, two of the newest drugs to treat TB; Armenia was one of the first countries in the world to authorise their use.

During our three decades in the country, we worked in Nagorno-Karabakh, a self-proclaimed republic internationally recognised as belonging to Azerbaijan, but which is home to many ethnic Armenians. Activities there included the provision of medical equipment and support during the Nagorno-Karabakh war (1992–1997), and a TB project (1997-2003).

We handed over our remaining TB activities to the national health authorities and closed our projects in 2019.

Our activities in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2021

Data and information from the International Activity Report 2021.

MSF in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2021 As uncertainty loomed over the future of Nagorno-Karabakh, Médecins Sans Frontières started to offer mental health support to people experiencing chronic stress and anxiety.
Map_Armenia_Azerbaijan_2021.png

In 2021, Armenia/Azerbaijan experienced spikes in tension as fighting broke out in border regions. In response, our team began to support the Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh health authorities to improve the quality of psychological care for people affected by violence and displacement in Martuni, Martakert and Stepanakert.

We conducted psychological consultations and worked to improve detection and diagnosis of mental health problems.  To ensure that patients in remote areas could access care, we also assisted with travel costs.

In Martuni hospital, we contracted a local company to build a waste management area and improve storage conditions for the medicines provided by the Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh Ministry of Health.

 

 
MDR-TB Project Yerevan
Armenia

Drug-resistant tuberculosis: 30 years of MSF in Armenia

Project Update 21 Dec 2018
 
Armenia

Children in difficult situations: 30 years of MSF in Armenia

Project Update 20 Dec 2018
 
Armenia

Earthquake response: 30 years of MSF in Armenia

Project Update 19 Dec 2018
 
MDR-TB Project Yerevan
Armenia

MSF: 25 years in Armenia

Project Update 5 Jun 2014
 
Tuberculosis

Multidrug-resistant TB patient stories

Project Update 17 Mar 2014
 
Tuberculosis

A breath of hope for Drug-Resistant TB

Project Update 17 Mar 2014