ArmInfo. Accurate assessment of needs and cooperation with the executive and legislative powers is important in implementing any programmes, Heriknaz Tigranyan, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Health Care and Social Affairs, Parliament of Armenia, said at a meeting with members of Democracy International.
Implementation-related problems could necessitate legal amendments, so the Parliament should be informed of the process and arising problems.
James Wasserstrom, Chief of Party for Democracy International in Armenia, presented the USAID- sponsored Protection, Inclusion and Empowerment Activity Program, aimed at improving the living standards of vulnerable sections by means of amendments to laws, improving the quality of services and intensifying cooperation between government agencies and NGOs.
"The aim of the program is to help the targeted vulnerable groups in Armenia. We want to reveal the needs of the marginalized and vulnerable groups in order to be able supporting the Government - to have qualified social services. It is also important that all the services, which the vulnerable and marginalized groups should receive be at the right time and place," Mr Wasserstrom said.
The 5-year programme has five components aimed at social protection during crises.
Elaborating on the programme components, Mr Wasserstrom spoke of policy and legislative reforms aimed at ensuring protection, inclusion and empowerment, which constitute the first component. The second component is improved services, and the third component is higher-level protection of persons subjected to violence during hostilities. The fourth component is information, communication and research in politics and social sector. The fifth component is adaptive social protection to cope with the aftermath of global and internal crises.
Armenia's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is the key partner of the project and will receive assistance in introducing an assessment and monitoring system and raising public awareness. A multi-sectoral task group will be formed to support social reforms.
During the first year of the program assessment of available needs in the protection sphere will be carried out, which will go along with the analysis on the theme gender equality and social inclusion. The abovementioned researches will launch from June of this year, and its aim is to understand what social services are rendered to the targeted and vulnerable groups at the given moment, to disclose the gaps and to fill in them. In September, the results of the research, which will be predetermined for defining the program further priorities, will be ready.
Zaruhi Batoyan highlighted the participation of the targeted groups in the program implementation process. Speaking about the persons who suffered from the conflicts, she evaluated the quick response programs.
According to Heriknaz Tigranyan, many NGOs carry out numerous grant funding projects, but sometimes they do not fix distinct results. Hence, she once again emphasized the importance of registration of distinct, tangible and visible results.