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Although Armenia continues to contain the economic crisis that resulted from its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, according to the United Nations and the World Bank, Armenia is among the poorest countries in the world. Nearly 50% of the population lives in poverty1 and unemployment is as high as 30%2. According to UNICEF, one out seven families is unable to meet basic food, clothing, and housing needs. Since 1991, nearly one-fourth of the population of Armenia has emigrated in hope of better economic opportunities. A disproportionately high percentage of these emigrants have been the male heads of families, which has had devastating effects on the Armenian family and left thousands of mothers to be sole caregivers. Overall, government expenditures on social services remain very low and offer little in the way of a social safety net. A recent vulnerability assessment undertaken by the World Food Program found that in four marzes (states), 70-80% of households had inadequate access to food, consuming 35% below the national average of 2,200 kilo calories per person per day.
Although in recent years there have been signs of economic growth in and around the capital city of Yerevan, outside Yerevan, particularly in the rural areas, the situation remains bleak. Unfortunately, the disparity between rich and poor has taken a sharp increase since independence, with the benefits of recent economic growth going to a relatively few wealthy people. Poverty in Armenia is rooted in both external and internal factors, such as high levels of state corruption, poor state governance, unresolved conflict with Azerbaijan over the Karabagh territory, economic blockade by Turkey and Azerbaijan, loss of economic links after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and an outdated technological base and labor force.
Children in Armenia are more vulnerable to the consequences of poverty than any other age or social group - poverty attacks their long-term physical, emotional, and intellectual development by lowering nutritional status, reducing educational opportunities, and weakening the family structure. The 2000 Armenia Demographic and Health Survey reported that 13% of children under five are stunted because of poor nutrition. In some regions, stunting has reached as high as 50%. Unfortunately, poverty in Armenia has resulted in ever increasing numbers of orphans, institutionalized children, unaccompanied children, and children living and working on the streets. It is difficult to obtain exact figures, but as many as 1,000 children may be living on the street. There are also 11,000 otherwise healthy children committed to 53 public boarding schools and at least 800 children living in seven state orphanages because their parents cannot afford to feed, clothe and educate them.
In Armenia, there are both "natural" and "social" orphans. Natural orphans are those children who have no mother or father. Social orphans are those children who have at least one living parent, but whose parent(s) is/are unable or unwilling to care for them. Unfortunately, most state institutions and orphanages are underfunded, poorly managed, in disrepair, and understaffed. Although the children receive basic material, educational, and nutritional support they might not otherwise receive at home, most institutions do very little to care for the emotional, spiritual, and psychological well-being of the children. According to UNICEF, orphans and institutionalized children in Armenia are at very high risk of being trafficked, abused, falling into prostitution or coming in conflict with the law.
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1See www.worldbank.org.
2Official government statistics place unemployment much lower, but UNDP estimates unemployment to be approximately 30%.
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