October 10th Joint Meeting and Discussion for Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Development in Armenia.
The Assembly of National Sleep Societies (ANSS) is a group of European sleep societies with the common goal to develop sleep medicine and sleep research in the selected areas. 
The ANSS is a formal body of the European Sleep Research Society (ESRS) and represents the associate members from different European sleep societies.
ANSS Executive Committee initiated a project for the European countries which need assistance for sleep medicine development. The project included sharing gained experience from developed countries, promoting good sleep habits in the general population, striving against stigmas, implementing financial support mechanisms for patients with sleep disorders, and so on.
The pilot project was proposed to be held in Armenia. Within the main activities, it was decided to organize a meeting for sleep medicine related public health issues discussion. In the frames of ANSS EC collaboration with ARSDA, a round-table discussion meeting was organized in the National Institute of Health, MoH on 10th October 2019 in Yerevan, Armenia.
The ANSS Executive committee was presented by the chair Barbara Strazisar, Slovenia, child neurologist, vice-president Oana Deleanu, Romania, pulmonologist, secretary Lyudmila Korostovtseva, Russia, cardiologist, Johan Verbraecken, Belgium, pulmonologist, Samson Khachatryan, Armenia, neurologist, Ysbrand van der Werf, the Netherlands, neuroscientist. ARSDA representatives were head of the organization Samson Khachatryan, and other members. NIH RA director Alexander Bazarchyan was the host of the meeting.
Barbara Strazisar is the chair of ANSS Executive Committee. She presented ANSS past activities and future directions, such as supporting developing European countries to improve sleep research and sleep medicine. Samson Khachatryan presented the prevalence of sleep disorders in Armenia (see here). Oana Deleanu and Lyudmila Korostovtseva shared sleep medicine development experiences in their countries. Oana Deleanu presented the Romanian path of establishing and achieving a better sleep medicine field, and Lyudmila Korostovtseva shared information about sleep medicine development in Russia and supporting legislative documents.
After a thorough discussion of issues present in Armenia, the participants proposed to create an official statement paper with recommendations included, which would be presented as a result of Round-table discussion and signed by meeting organizers – ARSDA, ANSS, NIH. The paper will be sent directly to the minister of health in Armenia and presented in ANSS-ESRS meetings as a result of the pilot project in Armenia.
