Papikyan Calls to Address MoD for Issues Related to Veteran Health

The Minister of Defense of Armenia, Suren Papikyan, promised to address the issues of those wounded in the war who do not have disability status. Papikyan made this statement during a question-and-answer session with the government in parliament, responding to a question from opposition MP Tadevos Avetisyan.

The MP described a situation he witnessed during recent visits to the Ararat region, emphasizing that the issue is systemic.

“Recently, Manuk Hovakimyan, who returned from conscription (having served in Mataghis), participated in the 44-day Artsakh War and was injured. They approached healthcare institutions and the Ministry of Defense hotline, and it was found that surgery is needed for his recovery, costing up to 1 million drams. It also turned out that the Ministry of Health or the state does not provide any support for him and many compatriots like him,” Avetisyan noted.

He emphasized that he also spoke with the head of the MoD's social health department, who stated that many similar cases exist.

Papikyan stated that they would attend to this individual's (Manuk Hovakimyan) issue to understand the situation and why he has not received disability status. According to the minister, it is possible that the injury is minor or can be mitigated with medical intervention.

“I will personally address this. If you consider the issue systemic, meaning that individuals who have problems and do not hold disability status, we can work on this together and find a solution. I do not think there are insurmountable issues, as the Minister of Defense is authorized to make individual decisions,” Papikyan said.

He urged individuals with similar issues to approach the MoD.