The National Center for Infectious Diseases was established at the beginning of 2020 through the merger of the “Nork” Infectious Clinical Hospital and the Republican Center for the Prevention of HIV/AIDS. Prior to this, the two former centers had gone through long phases of consolidation and development.
Before discussing the formation of the National Center and the subsequent changes within it, let us present the paths taken by these two institutions, which have played a key role in the field of infectious disease management.
Establishment
The center was founded in 1956 as the No. 2 Children’s Infectious Diseases Hospital, with the aim of organizing effective medical care jointly with the children’s department of the No. 1 Infectious Diseases Hospital of Sari Tagh in Yerevan.
The opening of the No. 2 Children’s Infectious Diseases Hospital was intended to create a specialized center in Yerevan for the treatment of intestinal infectious pathologies, serving both newborns and citizens up to 18 years old.
Development
“Nork” Children’s Clinical Hospital became the largest center in the country providing specialized inpatient care for the pediatric population. The pediatric branch of the Department of Infectious Diseases of Yerevan State Medical University named after Mkhitar Heratsi also operated here, carrying out educational activities.
Starting from 1996, “Nork” Children’s Infectious Diseases Hospital also began serving adults, including military personnel.
In 1998, the hospital was fully reprofiled and renamed “Nork” Infectious Clinical Hospital. With a capacity of around 300 beds, the hospital housed pediatric, intestinal, airborne, and intensive care units, as well as hepatology and other departments. The hospital employed renowned physicians in Armenia, highly respected and with decades of professional experience.
Over the years, with the support of charitable organizations and benefactors, the hospital underwent partial renovations and received donations of modern radiological and laboratory diagnostic equipment.
In 2011, the Department of Infectious Diseases of the National Institute of Health joined the Department of Infectious Diseases of YSMU. From the very beginning, the clinical bases of the department included the No. 1 Infectious Diseases Hospital of Yerevan, the “Nork” Infectious Clinical Hospital, and since 2000, the “Armenikum” Clinical Research Center.
In 2020, “Nork” Infectious Clinical Hospital was the first in Armenia to admit a patient with the novel coronavirus infection. With the spread of the pandemic, the hospital was reprofiled into a Covid Center. Within ten days, a modular admission unit with 40 isolation rooms was constructed in the hospital yard, designated for isolating patients with coronavirus infection.
The Republican Center for AIDS Prevention was established in 1989 by a decision of the Ministry of Health, based on the laboratory of the “Diagnostics” Research and Practical Center, with the purpose of preventing and controlling HIV infection among the population of the Republic of Armenia.
In 2002, the Government of Armenia approved the country’s first national HIV/AIDS program. It was at that time that effective cooperation between the United Nations and the Republican Center for AIDS Prevention began.
The Republican Center for AIDS Prevention has been the main implementing body of the measures defined by the national strategies on HIV.
In 2005, through the efforts of the Government of Armenia, a spacious building at 2 Acharian Street was allocated to the Center and partially renovated with the support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Since 2005, the AIDS Center has also served as a teaching base for the Department of Epidemiology of the National Institute of Health named after Academician S. Avdalbekyan.
Over the years, within the framework of the Global Fund grant program and the Russian Federation’s support program, the Center’s infrastructure has been renovated and equipped. In 2018, with the assistance of the Global Fund, a new laboratory facility was opened, fully renovated and equipped with modern technologies. That same year, a solar photovoltaic station was built, allowing the savings to be redirected towards enrolling new patients with HIV infection under dispensary surveillance. In 2019, a new infrastructure for the Medical Care and Services Department was established.
Between 2014–2022, within the framework of the assistance program of Rospotrebnadzor of the Russian Federation, the Republican Center for AIDS Prevention received four mobile diagnostic clinics, making HIV-related services more accessible in remote regions and increasing the number of individuals tested.
Within the framework of the Russian Federation’s support program, the Center has also conducted around a dozen research projects in several directions.
Throughout its operation, the Republican Center for AIDS Prevention has achieved significant progress in effectively responding to HIV/AIDS in the country, expanding access to HIV-related services, strengthening human resources, and providing quality medical care.
In 2020, as part of ongoing reforms in the healthcare system, the two institutions were merged to provide more effective medical care. The integration of the AIDS Prevention Center with the hospital has had a positive impact on the organization of patient treatment processes and has also contributed to the use of the Center’s technical capacities in the diagnosis and treatment of a number of other infectious diseases, often accompanying HIV/AIDS.
Two years later, the National Center for Infectious Diseases will welcome its visitors in a more comfortable, fully reconstructed and renovated new building, equipped with modern technologies and devices, in order to deliver higher-quality medical services that are on par with similar international centers.
