5 out of 7 Doctors Arrived from France Have Never Treated COVID-19

An interesting article has been published in the July issue of the magazine "France Arménie" regarding the "humanitarian aid" of doctors arriving in Armenia from France for the treatment of coronavirus. Hraparak.am reports on this.

The article has an intriguing title: "A Hair in the Soup." It is dedicated to Health Minister Arsen Torosyan, showing how he unilaterally invited a group of doctors from Nice, France, paid for their "humanitarian aid," and did not coordinate it with the French government.

Furthermore, it reveals that out of the seven doctors who arrived, five had never treated COVID-19 and could not contribute in any way to the treatment of the virus. The article explicitly states that this was done to ensure Arsen Torosyan's PR.

The visit was organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of Armenia in collaboration with the USAID, and the article mentions some unknown intermediaries. We found out that the person in question is Samson Ozararati from the Armenian community in Nice, who is close to MP Hovhannes Igityan and the head of the government office Eduard Agajanyan.

The journalist has disclosed that all of this was carried out without medical justification and without involving diplomatic channels, even without notifying the French government. This has led to outrage among a group of doctors from Armenia, the diaspora, and France.

Specifically, the opinion of the French-Armenian doctor Jean Michel Egerian is included in the article, stating that Armenian doctors are very good specialists and well-trained, thus capable of providing assistance to the population, making the need for foreign resuscitation specialists unnecessary.

The doctors chosen, who lack experience in combating COVID-19 in their own country, were selected without considering their CVs and without consulting with the heads of Armenian medical institutions. The cost of this mission totaled more than 200,000 euros, which included travel expenses and accommodation in a five-star "Marriott" hotel, plus around 1,800 euros as salary for each.

However, such humanitarian missions are generally unpaid. Therefore, the journalist raises the question of what Arsen Torosyan's motivation was to organize such "humanitarian aid" in Armenia without informing the French government. The conclusion drawn is that Torosyan likely did this to boost his rating, although the Armenian government is currently facing criticism for poor management of the crisis situation.

We attempted to contact Zareh Sinanyan, the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs in Armenia, but he did not respond to our calls, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs promised to respond.