Faces of WHO – Lilit

Lilit Dadikyan, WHO Country Office, Armenia

26 April 2021

Lilit Dadikyan is two months into her fourteenth year with WHO, working at the WHO Country Office in Armenia. After many years with WHO, her colleagues have become family, sharing joys, sorrows, and supporting one another. In her spare time, she grabs her impressive camera set and heads out to the mountains or the nearby river to reset and connect with nature.

What brought you to WHO?

Before joining WHO, I was working for the United Nations Development Programme, so I was already familiar with working for the United Nations. I joined WHO on a temporary contract, but after a few months with the organization, I found that I enjoyed working with WHO so much – with people and health at the centre – that I decided to apply for the fixed-term contract when it was announced. I ended up staying for thirteen years.

How has your work affected others?

My work has certainly affected my family and close relatives. I have always strived for a healthy lifestyle, but with WHO my conviction deepened. Without health there is nothing – no growth, nothing. I started advocating a healthier lifestyle to everyone in the family, and sometimes my advice wasn’t very well received! (laughs). People like to relax and do whatever they want, and here you come with your healthy tips on eating and exercising! It wasn’t easy but when people realize you want the best for them – and you’re walking the talk – they eventually begin to trust you and become more receptive to your suggestions.

I’m also active at my daughter’s school – I try to promote healthy eating and physical activity, as well as activities beneficial for mental health. My daughter’s teacher is very proactive, and sometimes gets in touch with me to ask for tips and ideas. Once we did a creative photography class for children aged 5–6 years, whom I taught how to take good photos. We had so much fun! The children took it very seriously and they were great with their tablets and cameras. We also did a handwashing exercise with another teacher: the COVID-19 pandemic had begun, and Dr Tedros had released a useful handwashing video. Inspired by that video, we did a flash mob-type campaign with children aged 3–4 years and their teachers during lockdown. We took photos of the children washing their hands and asked them to share their thoughts on why it’s important to wash your hands. The photos, together with the great quotes from the children, were posted on the school’s blog, and made a nice and inspiring photo story. We also used some of the quotes for WHO’s hand hygiene campaign that year.

What’s the one thing the pandemic taught you that you want to keep doing or practicing in your life?

One thing that I have perhaps always done, but without putting much thought behind it, is keeping in touch with my parents. They live outside Yerevan, and visiting them requires some effort. During the pandemic, they both got COVID-19, and I realized I wasn’t able to help them. It was very hard. It was during the peak period, when hospitals had no capacity left. My mother also had underlying medical conditions, which is why we were quite scared. Luckily, my parents managed to find a nurse who was able to visit and check in on them regularly, and now they are doing much better. I realize I spend so much time on my work and in meetings, and I don’t spend as much time with my parents as I would like. I want to be more connected to them so I will put more emphasis on it once the pandemic is over.

What did you do yourself to stay positive and healthy?

My family’s health and my own is a clear priority for me. I think there are many things you can do to stay healthy that also have a positive influence on your mental well-being. I do yoga and I continued to take online yoga classes during lockdown. I also started growing some plants on my tiny, one-square-metre balcony after my brother gave me some strawberry seedlings. It doesn’t give you a huge harvest, but it’s so good for your mental health! I also started growing avocados and pomegranates. The plants are still tiny, and I haven’t seen any fruit yet, but the most important thing is taking care of them. Another thing I do is climbing stairs. I live on the eighth floor and I take the stairs all the time instead of taking the lift. It helps if you missed your yoga class, and it’s a great everyday exercise – I just run down and walk upstairs, and it takes no more than three minutes of my time, but makes me feel a lot better.

What does it mean for you to be working for WHO?

It may sound cliché, but it’s a part of my life, and my colleagues are like family to me. I have worked with them for many years, and we’ve gone through many things together, good and bad. We have experienced the passing of a colleague, we have celebrated births – everything. There are times when I might lose sight of what I do and the overall goal of the organization. However, I tend to realize quite fast that I have lost connection and need to get it back and regain that sense of family. It’s like rebooting a system – otherwise the programs don’t run properly. When you’ve rebooted, you start over, connected and with a fresh mind.

So how do you reboot? What’s your ultimate health tip?

Going outdoors and being close to nature. I often go to the mountains where I can be completely alone. I combine it with photography and usually take photos when hiking. My tip is that you don’t necessarily have to go hiking, but it’s important to simply get out in nature to listen to birds, watch the river run, smell the flowers, or lie under a tree.

Imagine one more year of COVID-19 and lockdown. You get to have one piece of music. What’s your pick?

One lovely piece of music I discovered recently is a Danish rock band called Scarlet Pleasure. They have a great song called “What a life”, which we play almost daily, and my daughter sings along and dances to it, even though she doesn’t understand the words.

You also get to invite one person for dinner – present or historic. Who do you invite?

There is one journalist I enjoy reading – Tatul Hakobyan. He’s my friend on Facebook and I love reading his posts and articles. He’s focused on history and politics, and he tries to be objective, rather than presenting a story in the light of patriotism. He’s sharp and fresh – he brings you the facts and leaves the analysis to you. He’s someone with whom I would like to have a discussion.

WHO Country Office Armenia

• Staff: 20, including consultants. This number changes regularly due to emergency response needs
• Operating since: 1994
• Key focus areas: Communicable diseases (TB, HIV, HEP, etc.), NCDs, Tobacco, Mental Health, Immunization, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), Health Emergencies, Risk Communication