Meduni hosted a Gala Fundraising event on April 3 2019. We took a next step in battling cancer. Special thanks to Anna Hakobyan, Gevorg Tamamyan, Rod Rosenstein, Varuzhan Nersesyan, Ester Demirtshyan, Shamim Hamid, Dr. Samir N. Khleif, Vasken Yakoubian, Myron Allukian Jr., City of Smile Charitable Foundation and many other respectful guests for their active involvement and dedication.
About 9,000 people in Armenia, about 100 of which are children, receive cancer diagnoses every year, says Spouse of Armenian Prime Minister Anna Hakobyan, who participated in the event organized by the Meduni Charitable Foundation and the City of Smile in Washington to benefit children and young adults battling cancer in Armenia as part of her visit to the United States.
Head of City of Smile and My Step foundations Anna Hakobyan said that it is everybody’s responsibility to stand by our compatriots fighting cancer, which is the basic goal of the event organized in Washington DC. Cancer is a disease that needs to be tackled, said Anna Hakobyan.
Head of Meduni Charitable Foundation Vahagn Martirosyan hopes that the event will make it possible to expand the projects in the field. “The event has been organized by the joint efforts of Meduni Charitable Foundation and City of Smiles. This event is the start of bigger projects within the framework of the cooperation between the two organizations”.
Esther Demirtschyan, Executive Director of City of Smile, emphasized the importance of the involvement of humanitarian organizations and foundations in the struggle against cancer, which makes the treatment of the disease accessible for broader layers of society.
“The main challenge, of course, is related to medications and treatment. Besides that, we have a hope and a big goal to improve the level and quality of the services provided”.
Gevorg Tamamyan, a pediatric oncologist, also spoke about the problems in the field of oncology. According to him, there are numerous problems concerning all the layers of the field.
“Today problems in the field of oncology in Armenia range from awareness to palliative care. I mean we have problems in all spheres. Important factors include prevention, diagnosing, treatment and palliative care,” Tamamyan said.
Among the respectable guests of the event was the United States Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who was welcomed with applause. The speakers of the event emphasized the important mission of the humanitarian event. Armenian Ambassador to the United States Varuzhan Nersesyan also stressed the importance of the event and expressed his gratitude to the organizers and participants.
All the funds raised during the event will be used for the treatment of Armenian children with cancer.
“I believe that this is a little help but an important step towards reducing the percentage of patients who are not undergoing treatment today.”
Non-Armenian guests also took an active part in the event. Shamim Hamid, Founder of Child Care Organization, expressed his willingness to donate $ 100,000 to the treatment of child cancer in Armenia.
“I know that there are problems related to doctors and the treatment of cancer in Armenia. Our organization can help people contact doctors abroad through using technologies without leaving their country and receive high-quality medical care,” Hamid said.
According to Vahagn Martirosyan, a lot of methods are required for the treatment of cancer.
“As Armenians, we need to unite and fight these problems no matter where we are. Today we have all conditions for that. We can do that if we unite. No event or initiative is possible without consolidation,” Vahagn Martirosyan said.