In April of 2020, friends of AWHF collected over $25,000 to help lead a quick and comprehensive effort to protect our defense forces from the COVID-19 contagion.
Our emergency response plan is to prevent a wide-spread breakout which could impact operational readiness. We therefore focused on upgrading disinfection capabilities of all major military facilities (barracks and military hospitals) in Artsakh where infection can spread quickly to a large number of servicemen, and enabling rapid testing and response / isolation of cases. Our effort included:
#1: Provide PPE
Provide PPE, including gowns and medical masks, to protect medical personnel
#2: Surge Capability
Install large-scale disinfection equipment and supplies in major military facilities, to maintain hygienic conditions and “surge” capability to disinfect in the event of an outbreak
#3: COVID-19 Test Kits
Deploy rapid COVID-19 test kits, to quickly identify and isolate impacted personnel
We believe the biggest challenge of protecting the defense forces from any disease is the poor hygienic conditions on the front lines and in the barracks.
This is why our #1 priority, in addition to saving lives of combat casualties, is to continue building out infrastructure to provide running water, hot water, showers and clean kitchens. This will take multiple years, and we would welcome your support in this area as we continue to upgrade front line positions with “Defense Support Units” to get the troops out of abysmal trenches.
