WHO Regional Director: COVID Response of Georgian Gov't Truly Commendable

"The COVID Response of the Georgian authorities, and specifically the government led by the Prime Minister, is truly commendable," stated Dr. Hans Kluge, Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Europe, after his meeting with PM Gakharia today.

Effective efforts of the Government of Georgia in the fight with a pandemic caused by COVID-19, reforms planned in the healthcare sector, and the COVID vaccine were among the topics discussed by the Head of the Government and WHO Regional Director for Europe.

Dr. Kluge gave a high assessment to the steps taken in the fight against COVID-19 during the meeting held at the Government Administration. He highlighted the significant role of clinical hotels and online clinics. Special focus was put on the strategic importance of the Lugar Lab both at the local and international levels.

Discussions were related to the uninterrupted flow of actions targeted at the national vaccination process. It was mentioned that a designated Task Force is created with the instruction of the Prime Minister of Georgia, which is actively working on the timely supply of the vials and on the arrangement of infrastructure and logistics of immunization. It was once again stressed that apart from the COVAX platform, negotiations are actively pursued with international partners and pharmaceutical companies with the engagement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and overseas diplomatic missions of the country. Dr. Kluge pledged his support to Giorgi Gakharia towards this end.

Further, the PM and WHO Regional Director for Europe spoke about the current situation in the hospital sector, along with the role and performance of primary healthcare. Focus was made on the significance of the intensive testing program, which has been implemented by the Government of Georgia since early December within its 2-Month-Long Plan.

Gakharia expressed his gratitude to the WHO Regional Director for Europe for his visit to the country and stressed the successful cooperation between Georgia and WHO over years. Prime Minister noted that the country highly values the recommendations issued by the WHO not only within the scope of COVID management but for the implementation of the future reform agenda.

The PM once again stressed the importance of the fact that WHO representatives have visited the occupied region of Abkhazia twice this year with a special mission to assess the current situation and to issue respective recommendations.

Meeting engaged the following officials from the WHO: Dr. Nino Berdzuli, Director of the WHO Division for Country Health Programs; Natalya Dimova-Chertoianova, Project Management Officer of the WHO Support Unit; Silviu Domente, Head of WHO Country Office in Georgia along with Salome Gagua, Chief of Staff from the Office of the Prime Minister of Georgia.