Armenian Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan, in a statement released today, effectively accused the Armenian government of distributing “ineffective” medicines to those found eligible to receive such drugs.

Tatoyan said that, as a result, people are forced to purchase the medicines they need on their own.

He writes that complaints from socially vulnerable people and their families have led to cases where doctors advise against using free medicines provided by the state, as they are ineffective.

Tatoyan writes that one of the major causes of the problem is that state tenders for drugs are won by those who offer the lowest price, which calls into question the effectiveness of the drug.

“Due to this situation, there are cases when illegal payments are collected from the patient, the person is forced to look for expensive or inaccessible drugs, including unregistered drugs,” the statement reads.