YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 22, NOYAN TAPAN. In the past 10 years, infant mortality from intestinal and respiratory diseases have declined by 50% in Armenia. At the same time, the index of breast feeding has grown threefold and currently makes about 72%. Karine Saribekian, Head of the Mother and Child Health Care Department of the RA Ministry of Health, stated this during the November 22 consultation dedicated to issues of the strategy of developing the health care of children and minors. She said that according to UNICEF's 2006 State of the World's Children Report, mortality of children under 5 years has declined by 42% in Armenia in the past 15 years. In her words, alhtough the index of children's malnutrition is satisfactory in Armenia compared with the neighboring countries, this problem with all its negative consequences still exists in the country. According to a study conducted in 2000, 13% of the Armenian children are shorter than the respective height of their age. The RA Deputy Minister of Health Tatul Hakobian said the problems of children's health care are included both in the RA government's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and in the 2003-2015 Strategy of Mother and Child Health Care. The two-day consultation is held on the initiative of the RA Ministry of Health, the WHO and the Arabkir Medical Complex - Institite of Health of Children and Minors. The purpose of the consultation is to discuss issues related to nutrition, development and mental health of infants and small children. It was noted that the proposals made will be used in developing of the national strategy of health and development of children and minors.

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