New Partnership Initiative to Support Primary Health Care Launched in Georgia
The primary health care sector in Georgia will be further supported through the establishment of the joint program between UNICEF Georgia and Caritas Czech Republic in Georgia.
A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed today by the Czech Development Agency, by the Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Tbilisi, Mr. Petr Mikyska and representative of UNICEF Georgia Mr. Ghassan Khalil to commemorate the new partnership. Within the framework of the Memorandum, the Czech Development Agency and UNICEF agree to support the strengthening of primary health care in Georgia.
Recognizing the need to support the primary health care sector in Georgia, the partnership aims to ensure that high-quality services are provided through proactive strategies, favoring continuity of care and focusing on disease prevention and health promotion.
Georgia will benefit from the project outcomes as all will be handed over to the Ministry. The project deliverables will be piloted at target locations of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti regions of Georgia. At the same time, the project will continue to enhance the system of quality measurement and improvement at five pilot medical facilities in Tbilisi from Phase I. In total, 46 primary health care facilities will be included in the Project including 146 village doctors and nurses from Dusheti and Zugdidi municipalities.
As part of the new partnership, to address the current needs in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF Georgia and Caritas Czech Republic will initiate remote PHC support to mothers and young children. The initiative is expected to maintain lifesaving services for mothers and babies born during the pandemic and threatened by strained health systems and disruptions in services.
In addition, this partnership will ensure the additional integration of child health and development related data at the PHC level into real-time electronic Management Information System intended as mainstream tool for strengthening of the primary health care in Georgia.
The Memorandum of Cooperation will serve as an umbrella agreement and will be followed by the Program Cooperation Agreement between UNICEF and Caritas Czech Republic in Georgia.
The project will be from May 2020 till June 2023, with a total cost of approximatively $1,200.000. UNICEF aims to contribute with $70,000.