November 23, 2010, Yerevan, Armenia VivaCell-MTS, a subsidiary of “Mobile TeleSystems”, announces the Company’s General Manager Ralph Yirikian and BirthLink NGO director Kathy Mellor, as well as a group of neonatologists from Yerevan, visited a maternity house and Austrian Children’s Hospital in Gyumri. For already three years Armenia’s Leading Mobile Operator VivaCell-MTS and BirthLink have been working toward reducing the rate of infant mortality in Armenia. The total cost of the project for the last three years is AMD 214 thousand. In 2008 and 2009 equipment worth of AMD 144 million was installed in 11 medical centers of Yerevan. Specialists say the positive results are already obvious. The new phase of the project implementation in 2010 with a focus on the regions will guarantee the minimization of infant mortality cases in the vulnerable regions including borderland villages, which face shortage in essential medical equipment, and the geographical access to the hospitals in the capital city is a significant problem. Throughout 2010 neonatal care equipment was installed in 7 medical institutions; the equipment includes respiratory therapy and ultrasound systems, diagnostic monitors, intensive care cot and reanimation apparatuses, pulse oximeters, heated blankets and radiant heaters. The project’s cost for 2010 is AMD 70 million. The medical personnel at the maternity and children hospitals in Gyumri, Martuni maternity hospital, as well as the maternity departments in Sevan, Goris, Kapan, and Berd, undergo regular training for the exploitation of the equipment. Armenia’s Chief Neonatologist Hrant Kalenteryan believes the specialists in the regions will soon witness the productivity of the new equipment as well. “Issues are all equally important. However, those related to life are a priority matter. Predicting outcomes in the first days of life is one of the most difficult and responsible areas, and the care for critically ill newborns is the most difficult task that doctors face. So, the better the doctors are equipped, the more efficient is their struggle against infant mortality. This equipment provides that opportunity,” commented VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian. Every year, more than 4 million infants die in the first year of life. 98 percent of the cases are registered in the developing countries. 65 percent of lethal cases are registered within the first month, with two third of them – during the first week, and more than half – within the first 24 hours after the birth. The World Health Organization says the level of infant mortality in Armenia exceeds the level in countries like US and Great Britain for four times. As a responsible corporate citizen, VivaCell-MTS invests in targeted and large-scale interventions aimed at improving maternal and newborn healthcare services and expanding access to these services particularly in hard-to-reach areas.

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