Artsakh De-Mining and Public Health Advanced during Administration and Congressional Meetings on FY19 Foreign Aid Priorities
WASHINGTON””Direct U.S. assistance to care for Artsakh’s (Nagorno Karabakh) most vulnerable citizens and the completion of lifesaving de-mining efforts were the main focus of foreign aid discussions with State Department and USAID officials and key Senate and House appropriators this week, as the Armenian National Committee of America and public health leaders worked to build upon two decades of direct U.S. aid to the region.
“We continue to articulate the case for continued U.S. aid to Artsakh – a vital American investment in peace that has remained under relentless attack by Azerbaijan since it was first launched with ANCA backing in the Fiscal Year 1998 foreign aid bill,” said ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian, who was joined by internationally respected public health expert Dr. Alina Dorian, ANCA Eastern Region Chairman Steve Mesrobian, and ANCA Western Region advocate Leonard Manoukian for several days of meetings with Administration and Congressional leaders this week. In addition to U.S. foreign aid priorities, the delegation discussed expanding trade initiatives, Armenian Genocide remembrance, the situation in Armenia, and a broad array of ANCA foreign policy priorities.
“We are – with sufficient Congressional funding for the HALO Trust – within clear reach of a mine-free Artsakh and are, today, well positioned to meaningfully expand Artsakh’s regional rehabilitation services for the most vulnerable – children, adults, and the elderly with disabilities. The substance and the symbolism of America’s life-saving assistance to Artsakh represents an investment in peace, one that we will not allow Baku to block,” said Hamparian.
Dr. Dorian, a professor at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, who has worked on Artsakh health priorities since 1994, offered first-hand accounts of the vital role the United States must play in assisting Artsakh’s population in greatest need. “As a public health practitioner, our programs are always built on the backs of certain humanitarian principles and tenets ”“ adhering to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,”
