Healthcare Reforms in Armenia Focus of Public Health Seminar Featuring Lord Ara Darzi
YEREVAN–On October 30, the American University of Armenia (AUA) College in Public Health Program, in collaboration with the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia, organized a public health seminar on healthcare reform in Armenia featuring Professor Lord Ara Darzi of Denham.
The event, held in AUA’s Manoogian Hall, was attended by a capacity crowd that included officials from the Ministry of Health, physicians, professionals in the field of public health and medicine, as well as AUA students, faculty, researchers, and members of the broader AUA community. Attendees were given an opportunity to ask questions and receive advice from Professor Darzi during an active question and answer session following his presentation. A reception at AUA’s Akian Gallery prior to the seminar provided the opportunity for informal interactions between Professor Darzi and attendees of the seminar.
A distinguished physician in the United Kingdom, shared his wealth of experience in health care reform with the audience, emphasizing the need to prioritize improving the quality of health care in Armenia. During the presentation, Lord Darzi stressed the importance of streamlining patient access to medical care as well as the need to focus more on promoting preventive public health measures to improve overall health outcomes and quality of life.
Professor Darzi, who was in Armenia at the invitation of the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia, presented case studies showing how reforms directed towards a more equitable, integrated patient-centered health care system could significantly improve overall health outcomes. In drawing parallels between the United Kingdom and Armenia, he shared the outcome of reforms that were implemented in the UK when he was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health–a position equivalent to the Minister of Health in Armenia.
Professor Darzi holds the Paul Hamlyn Chair of Surgery at Imperial College London. He is an Honorary Consultant Surgeon at Imperial College Hospital National Health Service (NHS) Trust Hospital and Royal Marsden Hospital and holds the Chair of Surgery at the Institute of Cancer Research. In October 2010 he was appointed as Chairman for the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College. In 2012 Lord Darzi took up the role of Chair, Imperial College Health Partners.
He was knighted for his services in medicine and surgery in 2002; in 2007 he was introduced to the United Kingdom’s House of Lords as Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham and appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health. As a Minister he successfully set the strategy for the NHS for the decade ahead – one of the greatest policy transformations ever undertaken in the UK. He relinquished this role in July 2009 when he was appointed the United Kingdom’s Global Ambassador for Health and Life Sciences, a role reconfirmed in 2010 by Prime Minister David Cameron. Lord Darzi was appointed as a member of Her Majesty’s Most Honorable Privy Council in June 2009.
The American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia. Founded in 1991, AUA is affiliated with the University of California. Through teaching, research, and public service, AUA serves Armenia and the region by supplying high-quality, graduate and undergraduate education, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting democratic values.
The American University of Armenia is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, 985 Atlantic Avenue, #100, Alameda, CA 94501, 510-748-9001.
