On 16 October, the US Ambassador, Richard Mills Jr. and the Minister of Health Dr. Levon Altunyan officially opened the newly renovated Ministry of Health and Agriculture Martuni Laboratory in Gegharkunik. This was followed by two more laboratory grand openings in Kapan and Vanadzor. The labs are designed to help Armenia track, monitor, and fight infectious diseases. The Martuni, Kapan, and Vanadzor labs join a network of seven Ministry of Health and Agriculture laboratories renovated or constructed by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. These labs are staffed solely by civilian Armenian epidemiologists, doctors laboratory technicians. Since 2010, Armenia and the United States of America began working together to fight dangerous diseases. The completion of construction and handing control to Armenia on the final three laboratories represents a milestone in this cooperation. However, the work is not finished and the Armenian-American partnership continues to grow stronger by the day.
Watch this video to learn more about these laboratories, and how they contribute to Armenia’s public health and safety.
