No Soldier Injured During April Fighting Has Received Government Funding for Medical Treatment Abroad

Despite an Armenian Government decision that provides for full government financing of medical treatment abroad of soldiers injured during the four-day fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh last April, none of them have to date been provided with such assistance by the authorities, Hetq.am reports, stressing that the injured servicemen are instead being assisted by charitable organizations.

According to data provided to Hetq by Armenia’s defense and health ministries, only three soldiers have so far received financial assistance from the government, none of whom, however, combatants of the April fighting. The three soldiers sent abroad with government financing received gunshot wounds while on military patrol duty in 2013 and 2014.

In 2016, Hetq writes, a mere 0.02% of Armenia’s national budget was allocated to cover medical expenses for two soldiers. The third solider was sent abroad in 2017, at a cost of AMD 1.3 million AMD (US$ 2,689).

Rehabilitative treatment abroad, according to the government decision, is only permitted when such treatment is unavailable in Armenia. This was the clause cited by former health minister Armen Muradyan when asked why soldiers injured in the April 2016 conflict and being treated in Armenia weren’t being sent overseas.

According to Armenia’s health ministry, a total of 159 soldiers were injured in the 4-day fighting, and to date it has received only five applications for medical treatment abroad, of which three have been approved. The defense ministry has provided Hetq with the names of the three soldiers approved for treatment abroad. The three – Ashot Grigoryan, Mher Petrosyan, and Ruzvelt Torosyan – were wounded in 2013 and 2014 while carrying out military patrol duty. In all, the government allocated around AMD 28 million for their treatment.

Hetq has also been told by the defense ministry that three soldiers injured during the April fighting were currently being treated abroad; two of them raised their funds on their own, and the third is being financed by a charitable organization because the evaluation committee had found that all three could be treated in Armenia, and thus refused them government aid.