Armenia Peace Initiative has secured a grant from the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. Our organisation has also received funding from the Hovnanian Foundation and the Armenian Fund of France, to consolidate and expand its first aid training programme for people living in border villages. This new institutional and private support will strengthen the programme’s foothold in the strategic regions of Tavush, Gegharkunik and Syunik.
Since December 2023, Armenia Peace Initiative has been rolling out an intensive training programme based on the MARCH protocol, derived from NATO standards and adapted to civilians exposed to conflict, earthquakes or major accidents. Each two-day session teaches participants how to control massive bleeding, clear and secure the airways, stabilise circulation, and then treat head injuries and hypothermia. At the end of the training, each participant leaves with a complete individual kit—tourniquet, haemostatic dressings, pocket mask, and thermal blanket—while a collective kit is given to schools, medical centres, and municipalities in each village.
Since May 2024, the team has worked in 29 villages located less than 10 kilometres from the Azerbaijani border, training one to three groups of around 20 people per site. More than 700 civilians, including 121 healthcare professionals, have already acquired these vital skills, and nearly 85% of them are women. In the pilot villages of Jujevan and Dovegh, a grant from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has enabled 31 civilians to be trained and four healthcare professionals to be mobilised, with first aid kits being distributed systematically. This year, the grant will also enable the first sessions to be launched in the Gegharkunik region.
At the start of the new school year, training will also be provided in the district of Sissian, in the heart of Syunik. Funding from the Hovnanian Foundation and the Armenian Fund of France will ensure the continuity and expansion of the programme to these new strategic areas.