Our action in Armenia: training surgeons in times of crisis

A fragile context: massive displacement of the inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh

Following the recent escalation of the decade-long conflict in the region, over 100,000 Armenian inhabitants of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, located in the territory of Azerbaijan, were forced to flee the area in September 2023. This was due to the deployment of Azerbaijani armed forces, who launched an operation to remove the separatist government.

Medical training to meet urgent needs

In October 2023, La Chaîne de l’Espoir volunteer visceral and thoracic surgeon Pr François Pons travelled to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, to take part in a seminar on war wounds. The event was organized by Hay Asso, an association working to develop the healthcare system in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. During the seminar, Prof. Pons presented the Advanced Course for Damage Control Surgery (ACDCS) that we have developed in Ukraine with our partner Mehad as part of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs’ Crisis and Support Center (CDCS) funding (2022-2023). Surgical Damage Control is an emergency medical approach aimed at rapidly stabilizing severely injured patients by limiting initial surgical interventions and focusing on temporary measures to prevent serious complications, before proceeding to more comprehensive treatments once the patient has stabilized. In the current context, the Armenian surgeons present at the seminar expressed a keen interest in having this training delivered in their country.

Working with local authorities and other associations to extend our impact

At the end of 2023, La Chaîne de l’Espoir approached Hay Asso to begin discussions with the National Institute of Health (NIH) of the Armenian Ministry of Health to set up an ACDCS training program. At the beginning of 2024, the training program received accreditation and an initial training of trainers session was held in Yerevan, led by Pr François Pons, from January 26 to 28. La Chaîne de l’Espoir provided the NIH with several items of equipment needed to ensure the smooth running of this and subsequent training sessions (mucus aspirator, monitor, ventilator, pulse oximeter and insufflator).

As a result, 9 experienced surgeons were able to receive training, so that they in turn could provide this training to other surgeons in the country.

At the same time, a La Chaîne de l’Espoir team, made up of the Armenian mission manager and our medical coordinator, carried out a needs assessment mission in several parts of the country, and met with numerous authorities and organizations.

Outlook: partnership agreements and training expansion

The goal for 2024 is to run 10 sessions to train 60 surgeons throughout the country, mainly those practicing in the regions bordering Azerbaijan.

An initial training session took place from March 1 to 3, supervised by Pr François Pons. A total of 6 surgeons, including 3 orthopedists and 3 general surgeons, were trained. Further training sessions are scheduled over the coming months.