Saturday, 14 October 2023
Government’s support programs for people forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh were presented
Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan and Prime Minister's Press Secretary Nazeli Baghdasaryan summarized from the Government's "Humanitarian Center" the current week and presented the government's actions aimed at solving the humanitarian problems of forcibly displaced people from Nagorno Karabakh.
Nazeli Baghdasaryan reminded about the four decisions of the Government, which were made during this week’s Cabinet meeting. One of the decisions is about monetary assistance for appartment renting. Each person will be given 40,000 AMD for renting an apartment, and 10,000 AMD for utility costs. The Prime Minister's press secretary emphasized that there is no need to fill out a separate application for the month of October, as the amount for renting the apartment and the amount for utility expenses will be transferred to the card accounts to which the one-time support of 100,000 AMD was transferred. Already from November, an application must be filled out on the relevant platform, the details of which will be presented in the near future. The amount for renting an apartment is intended for persons who are in Armenia and do not own property in Armenia. Persons who are in state care centers, as well as in state and community-owned buildings are also not beneficiaries of this program. People who own property in Armenia can benefit from the AMD 10,000 support for utility costs.
The next decision of the government concerns the employment of forcibly displaced persons. Presenting the details of the government's decision, Nazeli Baghdasaryan noted that the decision approved the procedure to fill the vacant positions, which is non-competitve for forcibly displaced persons. In this regard, according to Nazeli Baghdasaryan, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports stated that teachers will receive an additional payment of 30 percent of their salary. And the teachers working in the schools of Syunik and Vayots Dzor regions, Chambarak and Vardenis communities of Gegharkunik region, Noyemberyan, Ijevan and Berd communities of Tavush region will receive an additional 50,000 AMD in addition to the 30 percent bonus. The relevant platform will be available from October 16, where it will be possible to choose the vacant position according to profession and region.
According to another decision made during the Cabinet meeting, the procedure for providing scholarships for the full or partial compensation of tuition fees of forcibly displaced students from Nagorno Karabakh was approved. Thus, forcibly displaced students who studied in higher educational institutions of Nagorno Karabakh or in organizations providing primary and secondary vocational education will be provided with a scholarship.
According to another decision of the Government, 300 million AMD was allocated to Kotayk region. The total amount already exceeds 1 billion 360 million AMD. This money was allocated to the regional administrations for the purpose of meeting the primary needs of forcibly displaced persons.
Nazeli Baghdasaryan reminded about dimum.ssa.am website, which has two platforms. With one, the data of minors is entered in order to receive 100,000 AMD support, and with the other platform, it is possible to follow the transfer process of 100,000 AMD, that is, to see to which bank the money was transferred, or if it was rejected, for what reason.
Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan referred to the process of receiving one-time support of 100,000 drams and noted that more than 80,000 people, including 14,600 children, have already received this support. He urged all the forcibly displaced persons who have not yet applied to open bank card accounts to approach the branches of the nearest commercial banks and open accounts in order to receive one-time assistance of 100,000 AMD.
Referring to the government's decision to compensate students' tuition fees, Tigran Khachatryan noted that as of now 1000 students have already submitted their data to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, which will be the basis for making appropriate payments in these institutions and giving them the opportunity to continue their education.
Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan referred to the process of receiving one-time support of 100,000 AMD and noted that more than 80,000 people, including 14,600 children, have already received this support. He urged all the forcibly displaced persons who have not yet applied to open bank card accounts to approach the branches of the nearest commercial banks and open accounts in order to receive the one-time assistance of 100,000 AMD.
Referring to the government's decision to compensate students' tuition fees, Tigran Khachatryan noted that as of now 1000 students have already submitted their data to the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, which will be the basis for making appropriate payments to these institutions and giving them the opportunity to continue their education.
Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan mentioned an important indicator related to the field of health, according to which the registration of forcibly displaced persons continues in outpatient clinics and polyclinics, which enables them to access the health services that are available for Armenian citizens. According to the latest data, 27,246 people have already been registered at primary healthcare centers.
Tigran Khachatryan noted that according to the data of the end of last week, 13,443 children are already attending schools in regions and Yerevan. The Deputy Prime Minister expressed hope that by the end of this week that number will look complete, depending on the fact that the forcibly displaced persons will already rent the apartments and decide the long-term place of residence. He noted that currently 80,500 people are registered in the regions.
The Deputy Prime Minister informed. "We continue to receive support from our international partners, who assist the Government of the Republic of Armenia in various formats to meet the primary needs of forcibly displaced persons. Pledges of such monetary support have already been made by the governments of many countries, as well as by international organizations. In particular, as of yesterday, according to announcements, more than 35 million euros of aid will be provided by various governments and international organizations through the International Committee of the Red Cross”. Tigran Khachatryan noted that another 35 million euros were allocated in another way. Of which, 15 million euros will be allocated in the form of budget support to the treasury account of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, and the rest of the funds will be directed by the development agencies through their representations in Armenia to solving the needs. Aid is also received in the form of goods, and during these two weeks, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, more than 100 tons of humanitarian goods has already been received, which is distributed to regions.
Tigran Khachatryan added that according to the government's decision, one legislative amendment will be sent to the National Assembly, which will clarify the possibility of submitting simplified requirements to workers in the field of health care. "Today, we have a requirement in our internal regulations that senior or junior healthcare workers must have certain certificates or professional certifications. We need to plan a transition period for the coming period and provide an opportunity for the forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno Karabakh, where there was no such system and they naturally did not need to have such certificates over time, to use the time, choose their workplaces, train, work, but have about one year and three months to get these certificates so that from January 1, 2025, they will be at work in the same way as the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, having the relevant certificates," said the Deputy Prime Minister.
Tigran Khachatryan noted that the Ministry of Health supports those who want to participate in training courses. As of now, 260 displaced persons are now undergoing the appropriate training course to be able to choose their place of work in the most appropriate way.
Referring to the work of volunteers, Tigran Khachatryan noted that now more than 1,200 volunteers are registered on the platform of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, who quickly respond to any questions and help to better understand the issues related to to the daily problems of the displaced persons. The obtained data help to provide more targeted and operative responses to the primary needs of people forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh.
