 Struggle against sex-selective abortions to give results in 1-2 years July 21, 2015 - 19:06 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The results of projects implemented for the prevention of sex-selective abortions will be observed in 1-2 years, head of Maternity and Reproductive Health Protection Unit of Armenia's Ministry of Health, Gayane Avagyan said. "We can already see a positive change: if the girl-boy ratio was 100-115 in 2012, it is 100-112 now. Such projects and public campaigns may change the people's attitude," Avagyan said at a session of the commission of grants competition, organized by the President's office and the Youth Foundation of Armenia (YFA), Tuesday, July 21. Avagyan mentioned three main reasons behind sex-selective abortions in Armenia: when people plan to have few children, they want to have kids of different genders or only boys; there has always been some kind of preference for sons in Armenian families, YFA website reports. The ministry representative said they have proposed a legislative initiative: in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and with the support of international and local NGOs, the Ministry of Health is planning to implement a program on prevention of sex-selective abortions. Names of grant-winning NGOs will be announced in the coming days.   Top stories The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18.   Partner news |  Latest news European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan  The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE.Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide.Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |
