Armenia takes drastic measures to reverse population decline
by Michael Cook | 31 May 2020 |
Not getting any younger in Armenia
The tiny but fiercely distinctive and geo-politically strategic nation of Armenia is facing a demographic crisis. Its population is about 2.9 million, its fertility rate is about 1.6, far below replacement level, and the population is slowly shrinking.
The government is alarmed and launched some initiatives in March to reverse the trend -- including testing the fertility of teenage girls.
According to Eurasianet, former President Serzh Sargsyan announced in 2017 a plan to increase the population to 4 million by 2040. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, promised to boost the population to 5 million by 2050.
The government has a three-point plan: “additional screening of 15-year-old girls, who are entering the age of fertility, to identify health problems and to prevent and cure infertility”; fertility check-ups for newly married couples; and prenatal exams to reduce the number of miscarriages.
There has been little comment in the media about the plan, it seems, although it raises issues of informed consent and gender-role stereotyping.
Michael Cook is editor of BioEdge
The number and range of articles about Covid-19 in the bioethics arena alone is staggering. However, the topic of privacy and confidentiality has not been high on the agenda. Perhaps they should be, as there are risks.
A reader drew to my attention to news from India which raises some questions. A band of monkeys attacked a lab technician and spirited away blood samples of humans who had tested positive for coronavirus. The incident took place on the campus of a medical college in Meerut, in Uttar Pradesh.
Much remains to be known about Covid-19, but it appears that monkeys are not susceptible. So it is a mystery as to what the thieves intended to do with the blood samples. I’ll be a monkey’s uncle if they were stolen for research. But you never know. We’ll keep you informed.
A reader drew to my attention to news from India which raises some questions. A band of monkeys attacked a lab technician and spirited away blood samples of humans who had tested positive for coronavirus. The incident took place on the campus of a medical college in Meerut, in Uttar Pradesh.
Much remains to be known about Covid-19, but it appears that monkeys are not susceptible. So it is a mystery as to what the thieves intended to do with the blood samples. I’ll be a monkey’s uncle if they were stolen for research. But you never know. We’ll keep you informed.
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The government faces a tough election battle in October. BioEdge
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