National Center for Disease Control Has Director After Three Years
Irakli Purtseladze will lead the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC), filling a post that had been vacant for almost three years.
Purtseladze succeeds Amiran Gamkrelidze, who stepped down in August 2022. Following the resignation of Gamkrelidze, who led national efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic, First Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia briefly served as acting head, succeeded by NCDC Deputy Director Paata Imnadze in an acting capacity.
Health Minister Mikheil Sarjveladze introduced the new director to NCDC staff, saying Purtseladze’s “professional experience and management skills will support the strengthening of the public health system.”
Irakli Purtseladze worked at Georgia’s largest pharmaceutical company, Aversi, from 2002 to 2024, serving as General Director from 2011 to 2013. He also chaired the supervisory board of Alfa Insurance Company from 2016 to 2018.
The National Center for Disease Control is a public agency that runs the Lugar Center for Public Health Research, a U.S.-funded biological research facility in Georgia. Following Georgian Dream’s adoption of the Foreign Agents Law in 2024, several sectors, including health, were affected by the suspension of foreign funds to Georgia. As part of the $95 million cut in U.S. aid, some of the funding for the NCDC and the Lugar Laboratory was suspended. Health Minister Sarjveladze confirmed this, though he downplayed the scale.
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