Armenia to manufacture prostheses for wounded soldiers

YEREVAN, December 30. /ARKA/. Armenia will start soon manufacturing artificial limbs for the servicemen who were seriously wounded in the recent war in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, Health Minister Arsen Torosyan said in an interview with 1in.am TV channel.

He said the full treatment or recovery of some servicemen wounded in the war is not yet possible in Armenia, 'but there are mechanisms enabling us to send them for treatment abroad.'

The minister said also that the authorities tried to mobilize all resources and there were no problems with the placement of wounded military personnel in hospitals during the war, but many of them will need inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation treatment, perhaps until the end of their lives, and some - artificial limbs.

“Now work is underway to provide them with high-quality modern prostheses. The process is being handled by the Ministry of Social Affairs, which, in cooperation with the private sector and the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund are planning to invest serious funds in the servicemen's treatment and promised that there will be no servicemen left without prostheses. Soon we will have the opportunity to manufacture modern prostheses in Armenia,” Torosyan said.

According to him, the necessary parts will be supplied to Armenia, which will  be adapted to the needs of a particular wounded serviceman. Certain surgical interventions may also be needed, he added.

As for rehabilitation, the main problem was financing, but the issue has already been resolved, direct contracts will be concluded with medical institutions. For these purposes, according to the minister, 2.5 billion drams a year will be required and all of them will be paid from the state budget.

Speaking about the process of identifying the bodies of killed servicemen, the minister noted that this is a complex and lengthy process that requires high accuracy to avoid errors.

“Given the many casualties and the difficulty of identification, this has been a very high burden on one structure, although its employees have done more research than in the last year. Realizing the seriousness of the problem, they have long since switched to the 24-hour work and purchased additional equipment, and automated many processes,” Torosyan said.

From September 27 to November 9,  Azerbaijani armed forces, backed by Turkey and foreign mercenaries and terrorists, attacked Nagorno-Karabakh along the entire  front line using rocket and artillery weapons, heavy armored vehicles, military aircraft and prohibited types of weapons such as cluster bombs and  phosphorus weapons.

On November 9, the leaders of the Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a statement on the cessation of all hostilities in Artsakh. According to the document, the parties stopped at where they were at that time. The town of Shushi, the districts of Agdam, Kelbajar and Lachin were handed over to Azerbaijan, with the exception of a 5-kilometer corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia.