Armenian opposition figure warns families spend quarter of their income on medicine

Armenian opposition activist Narek Karapetyan claims that households in the country spend about a quarter of their income on medicine, underscoring urgent problems in the pharmaceutical sector.

Karapetyan, who coordinates the Mer Dzevov (Our Way) movement founded by his uncle, businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, made the remarks at a meeting with pharmacists in Yerevan on Tuesday. He said drug costs often outweigh basic food expenses for many Armenians.

“Medications, for example, are more essential than bread or food. In the budgets of middle-aged and elderly people, medicine spending is quite significant,” Karapetyan told participants.

He pointed to shortcomings in Armenia’s drug registration system, noting that only 3,700 medicines are currently registered in the country compared with more than 8,000 in neighboring Georgia. “This indicates that Armenia’s registration system doesn’t function properly,” he said, adding that centralized procurement also needed reforms.

The meeting addressed ways to lower drug prices and encourage domestic production.