ArmInfo. The Minister of Healthcare of Armenia Arsen Torosyan dismissed the head of the Republican Center for the AIDS Prevention Samvel Grigoryan, who categorically disagreed with the position of the minister on the need to unite the Center with the Infectious Disease Hospital for optimization purpose.
According to ArmInfo's information, Samvel Grigoryan as a demarche had already written a resignation letter in advance and expected that the Minister of Healthcare would nevertheless "change his mind" and will not take radical actions. The employees of the Center expressed their disagreement with the Ministry of Healthcare and demanded that the minister rethink his decision. They noted that this decision was made in the light of the lack of specialized discussions with the Center staff. This raises particular concern given the fact that in the republic, besides the Center, there is no other specialized organization working in the field of treatment and prevention of AIDS. They believe that there is a danger of losing important, significant achievements Armenia had recorded in this area. This, in particular, concerns the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, effective control of the epidemic and the quality of HIV research. We are confident that maintaining the Center as a separate structure proceeds from the interests of the state, since this ensures the activity of the most cost-effective and controlled system that promptly and timely responds to changes in the situation.
Meanwhile, to eliminate the negative consequences of the destruction of this system will take decades, as well as significant financial resources. According to the minister, scientific advances and modern international approaches in the fight against AIDS indicate that this issue should be integrated into the national health system. As was noted, the need for separate institutions dealing with the problem of AIDS existed about 40 years ago, when the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome was just detected. Meanwhile, according to official data of the same Ministry of Healthcare, from January to December 2019, the number of people infected with HIV in Armenia increased by 2.10%. According to official data, in 2018, 429 cases were registered, while in 2019 – 438 cases, of which 135 are women. However, in recent years, AIDS is not on the list of registered infectious diseases, which is the direct result of the work of the Center. It turns out - the better you work, the less your work is appreciated, " the Center's employees state.