UMCOR marks 10 years of work in Azerbaijan
Dec. 11, 2006
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A UMNS Report By Linda Bloom*
During the past decade, thousands of citizens and refugees in Azerbaijan have received health care through the United Methodist Committee on Relief.
The work has been accomplished through grants from UMCOR and the agency's major partners there, including the U.S. State Department, the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
In November, Marc Maxi, executive director of UMCOR's nongovernmental organization, participated in a 10th anniversary celebration of UMCOR's work in Baku, Azerbaijan. "We've been there for 10 years providing the same service," he said. "We thought it was a milestone that needed to be shared with others."
Much of UMCOR's attention has been focused on refugees who have fled to Azerbaijan from a number of countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and Armenia.
Additional attention has been given to Azeri people who came to Baku to escape areas of conflict in their own country. Formerly part of the Soviet Union, the newly independent Azerbaijan had a three-year war with Armenia.
Azerbaijan is now stable and has an improving economy, according to Maxi, but many of the refugees remain in the capital. "By and large, those we serve are pretty much staying where they are," he explained.
The Azeri government "has been gracious" in allowing UMCOR and other NGOs to provide services for refugees who otherwise "would have been a strain on their own system," Maxi said.
Health care projects
UMCOR has developed and managed a number of health care-related projects in Azerbaijan since 1996, ranging from primary health care to oral hygiene to immunization to family planning. The agency also has provided medicines and health, hygiene and school kits through its Sager Brown Depot.
Current UMCOR projects in Azerbaijan include a primary health care and pharmaceutical distribution program funded by the U.S. State Department. Free medical care, medicines and other goods are provided through 60 community-based health providers, 53 health facilities, UMCOR mobile medical teams and 11 UMCOR medicine dispensaries.
The program serves 37 children's institutions, four elderly institutions, a correctional institution and one home for the disabled, reaching more than 7,000 people.
General health care is the aim, according to Maxi, with special attention to tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
Funding from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has allowed UMCOR to provide medical care to asylum seekers and refugees through the Azerbaijan Government Polyclinic No. 8. This project also includes public health education campaigns, post-trauma counseling, vocational skills training and financial assistance to those most in need.
In August, UMCOR began implementation of the Health Care Project for Refugees, funded by the Ambassador's Fund of the U.S. Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. As a complementary program to its other services, the health care project focuses on providing education on public health care and preventive medicine, using community meetings for advocacy and problem-solving and expanding social worker services for unaccompanied minors and separated children.
Future work
Maxi said he had discussions in November with Ali Hasano, deputy prime minister, about UMCOR's continuing work in Azerbaijan and possible joint projects between the agency and the government.
"He was very positive and thankful for UMCOR's work in his country," Maxi added.
Donations to support UMCOR's work in Azerbaijan should be designated for Advance No. 250135, Azerbaijan. Checks can be dropped in church collection plates or mailed directly to UMCOR at P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068. Credit-card donations can be made by calling (800) 554-8583.
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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