Irakli Purtseladze has been appointed as the new Director of the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC).

Minister of IDPs, Labor, Health, and Social Affairs Mikheil Sarjveladze introduced the new director to the NCDC staff, describing Irakli Purtseladze as a capable manager and an experienced professional.

The Minister, along with the Deputy Director of NCDC and Irakli Purtseladze himself, inspected the centre during the visit.Since 2011, Irakli Purtseladze has worked in the private sector, holding managerial positions at Averi-Pharma. He also served as the head of Insurance Company Alpha from 2016 to 2018.

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.

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.