Karabakh reports first death from hunger

PanARMENIAN.Net - According to the information received by the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Human Rights Defender's Office and the research conducted by its Staff, a resident of Stepanakert, K. Hovhannisyan born in 1983, has died as a result of chronic malnutrition, protein and energy deficiency.

“According to the conclusion of the forensic medical examination and the death certificate of K. Hovhannisyan, his death resulted from: “severe alimentary dystrophy (general exhaustion due to prolonged and incomplete intake of nutrients, edema, disorder of all forms of metabolism with organ changes and their functional disorders), cachexia, protein-energy deficiency, kwashiorkor (a specific severe type of eating disorder that develops with insufficient protein content in food, the development of the disease is promoted by severe living conditions, low standard of living), bilateral polysegmental pneumonia with a predominance of the croup element on the right, pulmonary edema, mixed metobolia, hypoxic encephalopathy, dystrophy of internal organs-kidneys, anemia, septic condition, right hydrothorax, chronic malnutrition”,” Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan’s office said in a statement.

“The catastrophic consequences of the ongoing 8-month-long blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan are more than noticeable and tangible in the public health sector, which primarily affect the health situation of the most vulnerable groups of the society – children, pregnant women, people with chronic diseases, people with disabilities and older persons.”

The catastrophic food situation, the Ombudsman’s office added, caused by the blockade and especially the 2-month-long complete siege, leading to the malnutrition of people and the threat of hunger, the lack of necessary medicines and the inability of the full functioning of the healthcare system create direct and undeniable threats to 120,000 population of Artsakh.

Since December 12, 2022, the sole road connecting Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia - the Lachin Corridor - has been blocked by Azerbaijan. Baku tightened the blockade on June 15, 2023, banning emergency relief supplies that were carried out by Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross through the sole road connecting Karabakh to Armenia and the outside world. The move aggravated the shortages of food, medicine and other essential items experienced by the region’s population.