War Leaves 472 Individuals Disabled: Independent Living Centers to Operate in Armenia

Independent living centers will be established for individuals injured or disabled during military service, where self-sufficiency programs, personal assistant services, and vocational guidance will be implemented. The government approved the project titled “Program for the Protection of the Rights and Social Inclusion of Individuals Who Became Disabled During Military Service and the Timeline for Its Implementation.”

“In the first phase, independent living centers will be created in 6 regions, and the regions will be selected based on the higher number of individuals with disabilities. Regarding the issues of prosthetics, we have already conducted a needs assessment. We evaluated their environmental conditions, particularly their home conditions, as often the domestic environment does not allow for free mobility even with prosthetics,” stated Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Mesrop Arakelyan.

He also mentioned that agreements have been made with international prosthetics manufacturers in Europe and America, and the process of prosthetizing war amputees will be gradually implemented in the upcoming period.

It is worth noting that the project proposal presents specific numerical data. As of January 1, 2021, there are 9,022 registered military personnel with disabilities in the registration information system, 79% of whom are of working age. Additionally, as of February 16 of this year, 472 individuals have become disabled due to the recent war, including 70 with first-group disabilities, 147 with second-group, and 255 with third-group disabilities.