On our way to fulfilling the mission of City of Smile Charitable Foundation, we strive to do our best for the continued development of oncology and hematology in Armenia. As a part of our capacity building program, we strive to contribute to the strengthening of health systems and establishing standards and guidelines for improving patient care.

TRAININGS

Organizing and delivering trainings are aimed at capacity building of physicians and medical staff.

To day, the following trainings were organized:

• the second scientific meeting of POEM (Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean Group on Pediatric Oncology) – February 7-10, 2019, Yerevan, RA
• the third meeting of EurADO (Eurasian Alliance of Pediatric Oncology) – May 13-14, 2019, Minsk, Belarus,
• English courses organized for nurses of the Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center – July – August, 2019, Yerevan, RA,
• training of one doctor and one nurse on “Treatment of Patients with Thalassemia by Allogeneic Transplantation” – January 7-17, 2020, Bangalore, India.

EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSORIES

To improve the functioning of the Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and based on the needs of the Center, City of Smile Foundation has donated 12 infusion and perfusion system devices to the Center․ In addition, the Foundation regularly donates other supplies needed for the treatment course of cancer and blood diseases.

ALLOGENEIC HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION

In July 2021 first Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (bone marrow) transplantation has been performed at the Hematology center after prof. R. H. Yeolyan.

The project was implemented with the financial support of City of Smile ChF, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia and Cure2Children Foundation.

We are very proud to have been able to contribute to this significant event. The first allogeneic transplant was performed through the efforts of the renowned Italian specialist Dr. Lawrence Faulkner, M.D., and the Armenian Bone Marrow Transplant Team (ArmBMT).

The introduction of the allogeneic transplant program in Armenia is unprecedented and opens great opportunities for the treatment of children and adult patients with malignant blood diseases.

INSTITUTE OF CANCER AND CRISIS

The Institute of Cancer and Crisis (ICC) was established in 2021 in Yerevan, Armenia, with financial support from City of Smile Charitable Foundation.

The mission of the Institute of Cancer and Crisis is to explore and mitigate the impact of crisis on cancer patients and cancer care during and after the crisis, through dedicated research and advocacy.

The idea of creating a specific institute that investigates potential problems among cancer patients during the crisis was developed many years ago, but its importance and relevance were reevaluated during the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). This war, which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, led to a crisis in the health care system in both Artsakh and Armenia. This crisis primarily affected the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) due to the shift in priorities and the lack of standardized protocols for the management of NCDs in times of crisis.