Health

The Redemptoris Mater Hospital is located on the Ashotsk plateau at 2.000 metres above sea level. It was built in 1991 by the Italian Caritas and donated to the Armenian population by Pope John Paul II. The Hospital has been run since by Camillians. It offers 100 beds and it is at the core of a health care system that covers 22 villages with associated clinics.  The sanitary district is about 15.000 inhabitants. Patients come from the nearby Georgia and Armenia. There are 4 departments in the Hospital: the medicine, surgery, maternity and pediatrics units. A pediatrician has been hired to provide health care in the villages only. In its first years, several Italian doctors have been visiting the Hospital to hold refresher courses for the medical staff working there.

According to the paid national health care system in Armenia, 61% of medical expenses on average should be borne by patients and those who cannot pay are not provided with care. Two thirds of the population do not have hospitalisation coverage and there are no benefits relating to the purchase of drugs, except those against tuberculosis, malaria or HIV/AIDS. This often makes essential health care inaccessible for a large section of the population, blocking treatments and increasing health issues otherwise manageable.

As long as direct payments are so expensive, sanitary assistance will remain inaccessible for some parts of the population, causing inequalities and increasing social injustice further.

At the Redemptoris Mater Hospital health care is guaranteed to all those need it. Only those who can afford it are requested a contribution to the cost through the payment of a ticket. External clinical activities and first aid services are totally free. Knowing the real situation of poverty and implementing health and nutritional programs is made possible by these clinical services.

PRO.SA Foundation collects and purchases drugs, past, rice, oil and other essential goods in Italy and send them to Armenia via container.