Down Syndrome International has developed new guidelines for specialists to educate learners with Down syndrome. Information in this regard is released by Georgian Down Syndrome Association. “Our association is a member of the international organization and we are pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to development of guidelines”, - is stated in the information, - “it should be noted that this manual is going to be the first guidebook, created on the basis of international experience, which combines best practices of various countries”. Read more…  Source:The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. A shipment of medical respirators, masks, goggles, face shields and gowns to enable health-care workers in Georgia to continue to respond effectively and safely to the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the country this week. The delivery of up to 1.5 million pieces of personal protective equipment, funded by the European Union and procured by WHO, includes 5,000 faceshields, 13,200 protective goggles, 30,000 isolation gowns, 1,000,000 medical masks and 328,000 respirator masks. This is one of the largest cargos of protective equipment to arrive in Georgia with donor support. These supplies will safeguard those in the frontlines of the COVID-19 response, and ensure that the health system is well prepared in case of additional needs in the near future. Read more  Source: https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/georgia

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) responds to a conclusion on a thematic research of the Parliament in regard to issues related to fight against homelessness and calls on the Government to pursue recommendations, set out in the document, as soon as possible. “Taking into consideration difficult situation existing in the country in the field of homelessness, we address the Government of Georgia and municipalities: to pursue recommendations, given within the framework of the thematic survey, as soon as possible and ensure planning and implementation of a housing policy that corresponds to international standards; to take steps, in parallel with implementation of the above recommendations, in order to address the fundamental problems that are essential in terms of guaranteeing the right to housing. This includes improvement of legislation and practice that regulate all stages of eviction and bringing them into compliance with international standards. Besides, effective reflection of interests and challenges of various vulnerable groups in the housing policy. The Parliament of Georgia: to exercise effective supervision over recommendations of the thematic research group to be implemented by the Executive Government”, - is noted in the statement released by EMC. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Within the framework of the 37th session of the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR), organizations, working on human rights, presented a coalition alternative report on sexual and reproductive health and rights in Georgia.  “The report contains an appraisal of measures taken by Georgia in terms of sexual and reproductive health and rights since 2015 to date and a review of issues related to protection of specific groups and rights by the state”.  Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. UNICEF is partnering with the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health to reach out to approximately 26,000 registered pregnant women in Georgia and offer them virtual consultations with gynecologists. “Since June 2020, leading doctors have organized online consultations for more than 5000 pregnant women. UNICEF is calling on pregnant women to register and use this opportunity once they are contacted by phone and are invited to the sessions. The virtual sessions are organized to mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19. During the online consultations each woman receives individual attention from the doctor. The sessions gather up to 25 pregnant women together via the virtual platform and allow them to learn about the issues connected with pregnancy from both the clinician and their peers”. Read more… Source: www.unicef.org

Tbilisi. Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI), International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) and the Human Rights Center (HRC) call on both the Government and Parliament of Georgia to promptly provide public with information regarding the pandemic, what legal reality is going to exist after July 15. “We consider that prompt update of public on existence/nonexistence of restrictions related to the pandemic is given a special importance by the election year and processes, because full conduct of the election process and free expression of the will of electorate highly depends on legislative regulation of fight against the pandemic”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: gdi.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes a report related to evaluation of actions taken by the Government: Management of challenges entailed by the COVID-19 infection. “Actions of the Government have made it prevent mass spread of the new coronavirus in the country. It would be unjustifiable to say that the Government managed to achieve these results at the expense of mass violation of human rights, however there were also certain shortcomings in the process”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

According to European Commission’s report the coronavirus pandemic has been accompanied by a massive wave of false and misleading information, attempts by foreign actors to influence domestic debates in the EU, breeding on the fertile ground of people’s most basic anxieties and the rapidly changing news cycle.  Misleading healthcare information, dangerous hoaxes with false claims conspiracy theories and consumer fraud endanger public health. False or misleading information around coronavirus can damage societal cohesion, but above all, it is a threat to public health. False or misleading narratives come in different forms that require different responses. •content may not be illegal as defined by law, but still harmful •it can range from disinformation (defined as intentional) to misinformation •it can include misleading healthcare information, consumer fraud, cyber-crime, illegal hate speech as well as targeted influence operations by foreign actors. •the motivation behind it can range from economic gain (online scams) causing public harm, to political purposes •foreign actors and certain third countries, in particular Russia and China, have engaged in targeted influence operations and disinformation campaigns in the EU, its neighbourhood, and globally. False claims such as ‘drinking bleach or pure alcohol can cure the coronavirus infections’: on the contrary, drinking bleach or pure alcohol can be very harmful. Belgium’s Poison Control Centre has recorded an increase of 15% in the number of bleach-related incidents. Conspiracy theories, such as the claim that coronavirus is 'an infection caused by the world’s elites for reducing population growth'. The scientific evidence is clear: the virus comes from a family of viruses originating in animals that include other viruses such as SARS and MERS. Claims that '5G installations would be spreading the virus'. These theories had no specific substantiation and led to attacks on masts. The EU needs to empower citizens, raise awareness and increase societal resilience. The EU will share best practices on resilience-building measures in the coronavirus context. The Commission will support and promote media literacy projects, critical thinking and digital skills, as well as civil society organisations. It will strengthen coordination among institutions, networks and Member States to share awareness-raising material and best practices. The Commission will pay particular attention to vulnerable groups, in particular children and young people, who face a higher risk of being misled. Read more… Source: ec.europa.eu

Tbilisi. Green Alternative publishes an article by Irakli Macharashvili: Lessons learned from COVID-19: What is the connection between environmental protection and spread of epidemics? “How the conflict between humans and wildlife contributes to occurrence and spread of deadly epidemics - we have to imagine animal markets to understand that. Such markets are places for gathering a lot of animals that may not live together in nature. Stressed and diseased animals are locked in cages and secrete body fluids. They are killed and the meat is cut in pieces at the same places. All this creates a favorable environment for spread of a virus. First cases of the new coronavirus were linked to specifically the Wuhan animal market, where live civets and other animals were sold for food. If we do not learn proper lessons, daily decline in wildlife habitat due to activities of humans will further exacerbate the threat of new epidemics: humans occupy habitat of wild animals and, thus, offer their bodies to viruses, fungi and bacteria that were hosted by animals”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more…  Source: greenalt.org

Tbilisi. UN Women Georgia Country Office decided to present women whose contribution to the response against the virus had particular significance. To show that at most responsible moment women stood on the frontline and courageously safeguarded people’s safety and well-being, often at the cost of risking their own health. Read more... Source: The organization’s page in a social network

Tbilisi. A set of documents provide guidelines and protocols for mental healthcare providers, aiming to protect patients and personnel from COVID-19. The documents are prepared by the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia with the assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. Children and adolescents have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic. UNICEF is particularly concerned about the impact on those that have inequitable access to basic services and resources. “Children living in overcrowded households or in inadequate conditions, like lacking hand-washing and other hygiene facilities, are particularly vulnerable to rapid COVID-19 transmission. According to UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, 29,800 children in Georgia have no handwashing facility with water and soap in the household. This means they are exposed to a greater risk of COVID-19 infection. All children should continue to learn during the ongoing crisis and be able to safely return to school. Children who are already marginalized by lack of access to digital tools and internet connectivity, favourable home learning environments and parental support, risk falling further behind”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.unicef.org

Tbilisi. Media Checker publishes a video tutorial, which will teach you what to consider while getting familiarized with coronavirus related materials so as not to become a victim of disinformation. “Remember not to trust medical advices and recommended medications blindly unless you are confident in credibility of the source. The video has been prepared with the support of EWMI Access”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The Georgia Red Cross Society publishes recommendations for people with tuberculosis during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Do not stop treating tuberculosis. Retain close and constant contact with your doctor and consider his/her recommendations. If you happen to get infected with COVID-19, provide healthcare personnel with information on all medications you take to treat tuberculosis and inform your doctor about having been infected with COVID-19”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) responds to planned amendments to the Law on Public Health and considers that the presented bill contains direct and obvious risks of gross violation of human rights.  “Turning the initiative into law gives relevant bodies of the executive government the authority to take almost the same measures in the ordinary situation, which they have been able to do only in a state of emergency. The current version of the Law on Public Health has a lot of gaps and it certainly needs to be corrected, but not in the way of consolidating uncontrollable authority of the executive government at the legislative level. The presented initiative normalizes the state of emergency and, in fact, gives unlimited authority to the executive government, as the bill does not envisage even minimal parliamentary or judicial control over the decision-making process related to above mentioned issues”, - is noted in the statement of the organization.  Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Within the framework of the “Civil Society Sustainability Initiative” project there was carried out an interesting information campaign aiming to stop the spread of COVID 19. Bread was sold with special information labels - a total of 173 760 units. Besides, as part of this campaign, 22 500 reusable bags were distributed to the population in ten regions of Georgia. These bags had also information related to COVID 19 preventive measures, as well as the unified hotline of the Public Safety Management Center - 112, Ministry of Health, National Center for Disease Control and Government printed on them in Georgian, Azerbaijani and Armenian languages. This campaign was planned by the Education Development and Employment Center within the framework of the “Civil Society Sustainability Initiative” project, implemented by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) in collaboration with the Civil Society Institute (CSI), Center for Training and Consultancy (CTC), Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG) and Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC). The project is funded by the European Union (EU), while the co-financer is the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS). Read more about the campaign…  Source: Delegation of the European Union to Georgia

Tbilisi. The EU-supported Tsalka and Keda Local Action Groups (LAGs), in partnership with CENN, invite you to participate in a cycle of webinars: ‘Women and Covid-19’. The webinars will be dealing with various topics in connection to the impact of Covid-19 on women, challenges the women face while in isolation and the possible ways to respond effectively to the occurred challenges. To participate in the webinars, please register at the following link...  For more information visit... Source: The web-page of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The Delegation of the European Union to Georgia issues the following statement in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission. “The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented challenge that has forced countries, citizens and governments to drastically change the way we live. It impacts everybody. Its negative effects are particularly hard for people in vulnerable situations. The immediate and necessary measures adopted to address the health and economic challenges should not leave anyone behind, including those already living below the poverty line, internally displaced persons and persons with disabilities, victims of gender-based and domestic violence and people and children living on the streets. The EU and its Member States are supporting the government and a number of state and civil society organisations in their actions to help those most affected by the pandemic. Grants provided to civil society organisations, including through the so-called Rapid Reaction Mechanism, allow them to provide immediate support to vulnerable groups. In a crisis like this, all parts of a democratic society play a crucial role, wherefore an enabling environment for a pluralistic civil society is more important than ever. No one is immune to the effects of this pandemic and no one should be left behind”. Read more… Source: eeas.europa.eu

The project will develop Facebook and TV versions of a video based on the World Health Organization’s recommendations. The project will develop Facebook and TV versions of a video based on the World Health Organization’s recommendations. The video is intended to deliver the following messages: Everyone’s efforts have to be directed against the disease and not COVID-positive individuals; People should unite in helping the vulnerable; Discrimination and stigmatization are unacceptable. Read more… Source: ewmi-prolog.org

Tbilisi. The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics publishes a guide: Ethical dilemmas while covering the pandemic. “This part of the guide is dedicated to those ethical dilemmas that the media may face while covering a topic of the pandemic”. Read more… Source: www.qartia.ge

To develop innovative solutions for coronavirus-related challenges, the European Commission, in collaboration with the EU member states, will host a pan-European hackathon - euvsvirus.org. The #EUvsVirus is a call to action to each and everyone to participate in the fight against COVID-19: demonstrate unity and share your skills for the common good across borders as a problem solver, mentor or as a partner. Follow the link to participate... Read more… Deadline: April 19 Source: EU’s page in a social network

Tbilisi. USAID’s ACCESS program provided a grant to the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics to provide accurate information about COVID-19 in ethnic minority communities. "The Charter will use the funding to develop public health materials in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Abkhaz, and Russian languages and distribute through social media and local media outlets. USAID is supporting community initiatives to combat COVID-19 through our ACCESS program, which provides grants to local organizations helping reduce the spread of COVID-19 and support at-risk individuals and communities". Read more… Source: Social network