ArmInfo. In Armenia, the implementation of a new program for the treatment of infertility through free or preferential access to assisted reproductive technologies (ART) starts.
At the July 11 meeting of the RA Government, RA Healthcare Minister Arsen Torosyan said that according to the available calculations, about 700 families will be included in the program. About 85 families are scheduled to serve annually. 250 million drams will be allocated for the project implementation. The Minister stated that the lack of financial resources does not allow expanding the list of beneficiaries. For this reason, a group of persons is established that will be able to use this program. In particular, the beneficiaries of the program may be, in particular, infertility couples who have clear medical indicators (in this case, women are 25-30 years old), couples where one or both spouses are military personnel or are equated to military personnel. The program also includes representatives of socially vulnerable groups (with a vulnerability score of 30 or higher), as well as couples where one spouse has a disability (provided there are no contraindications for a woman), parents who have lost their son during or after military service relevant circumstances (in this case, the maximum age of a woman is 42 years). The treatment of families suffering from infertility in the framework of the state order will be held in six clinics of the republic, with which an agreement will be concluded on insemination or IVF. At the same time, it is planned to change the essence of the program, emphasizing not so much the implementation of IVF for infertile families, as the provision of medical services.
Meanwhile, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan asked how these 80 families will be determined, and whether there will be corruption risks associated with the use of relatives, friends and acquaintances. "I have already talked about this 100 times, but again a draft decision is submitted to the meeting, which is not fully worked out," the head of government stated. The discontent of the Prime Minister was also caused by the lack of clear data on the number of beneficiaries and objective mechanisms on the basis of which people could use the program. "If we do not have clear data on the number of beneficiaries of the program, then why do we make this decision?" He noted. In addition, it was completely unclear from what considerations the beneficiaries would be included in the waiting list. So, if there are thousands of them, then the expectation of artificial insemination can drag on for years, as a result of which a person may, by age criteria, no longer fall under the necessary requirements. <How logical is it to tell a person that he is the de jure beneficiary of the program, but not de facto? He may stand in line for several years, and as a result he will no longer fall under the requirements of the program. And this person will be able to say that the Government has deceived him, " Pashinyan noted.
He added that this decision was not ready for discussion. "Why all these nuances should have been announced at the Government meeting? This question is removed from the agenda," the prime minister said, calling for all the defects to be resolved, and only then submit the document for discussion.