LOS ANGELES–Getting into the Christmas spirit and garnering further support to alleviate Armenia’s vulnerability to vaccine shortages, the Millennium Armenian Children’s Vaccine Fund received a $10,000 donation from the Law offices of Geragos & Geragos to purchase life-saving vaccines for Armenia’s children. The donation is derived from a law suit settlement, which was filed against insurance companies on behalf Armenian Americans who purchased insurance policies when they immigrated to the United States during the Armenian genocide but were originally denied the right to collect on their policies. Part of the settlement was also earmarked for Armenian charities.
Mark Geragos, a prominent Armenian-American trial attorney was one of four lawyers in a federal class action lawsuit against New York Life Insurance for policies for victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 in which 1.5 million Armenia’s were slaughtered by Ottoman Turks.
The gift from Mark Geragos’ firm demonstrates the growing support for the MACVF children’s immunization campaign, which has brought together an impressive network of donors in the Armenian Diaspora, health experts and advisors dedicated to strengthening the National Immunization Program of Armenia. "Mark Geragos understands the challenges faced by Armenia’s children and we greatly appreciate his contribution toward securing life-saving vaccines" stated Raffy Ardhaldjian, chairman of the Ani & Narod Memorial Foundation, the organization spearheading the Armenian children’s immunization activities.
Geragos is an active member of the large Armenian community of Los Angeles and serves on the advisory committee of Birthright Armenia. He’s also a chairman of Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry, and a member of the Armenia Fund International board of trustees.
Aside from providing funds towards Armenia’s national immunization program since the turn of the century, the MACVF ‘s as part of a large consortium of public health donors- has in 2007 October actively participated in Measles and Rubella mass immunization campaign providing financial, logistical, and technical support. The mass immunization campaign against measles and rubella targeted all individuals aged 6 ‘s 27 years, a total of approximately 1.2 million people.
Established in 2001, MACVF is a public-private capital fund administered by the Ani and Narod Memorial Foundation (ANMF) in partnership with international agencies including UNICEF, WHO, and USAID, as well as the RA Ministry of Health. MACVF is committed to securing financial capital for the procurement of vaccines during the next decade, and helping build Armenia’s human capital of healthcare workers, thus safeguarding the well-being of several generations of Armenia’s.
