Building a Family-Based Child Welfare System in Armenia

2026-02-11 - 12:56

Listen to the AI generated audio article. Your browser does not support the audio element. In a small village near Gyumri, a young mother holds her newborn with a disability, facing an agonizing decision. Local doctors, reflecting long-standing views, suggest the child may be “better off” in an orphanage. In another part of Armenia, a father struggling with poverty considers placing his children in a state boarding school so they will not go hungry. These personal dilemmas reflect a deeper reality: for decades, many children in Armenia have grown up outside their families, placed in institutions due to poverty, disability, or stigma. As the country works to reform its child protection system, a central question remains: can every child grow up in a family? The human cost of institutionalization underscores the need for urgent action. From Orphanages to Families: A System in Transition Institutional care in Armenia has deep historical roots. In