Tbilisi. Representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Ombudsman and the field of mental health had a meeting, which was attended by a representative of PHR. ''At the first working meeting participants came to know that a working group would be established, in which state institutions, the office of the Public Defender, non-governmental organizations and individuals, having an experience in the field, would be gathered'' – is stated on the website of the organization. In full… Source:phrgeorgia.wordpress.com

Tbilisi. The World Down Syndrome Day is marked on March 21. Campaigns are held in various countries to raise awareness of the rights of the persons with Down's syndrome and to advocate them. ''The public stigma and wrong attitude prevents people with Down syndrome from enjoying their opportunities and effectively participating in the processes ongoing in the country. Despite the fact that the voice of people with Down syndrome is becoming stronger in Georgia, the state efforts to satisfy their needs and interests are not sufficient. The Public Defender once again reminds the state of its role and functions and calls on it to respond to the voice of people with Down syndrome and to ensure their equal engagement in the state and public life through taking appropriate measures'', is noted in the statement. In full… Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. On March 14, 2017, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Government of Georgia with regard to the availability of safe and harmless water for minors, protection of sanitary and hygienic standards and creation of a monitoring mechanism. ''The situation of access to safe and harmless water in children’s institutions, communities and regions, as well as protection of sanitary and hygienic conditions do not comply with national and international standards and are contrary to the basic principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The problem is especially acute in the mountainous regions and villages'', is noted in the statement. In full… Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The children's hospice is a family-type facility, which will provide palliative care for children with chronic and incurable illnesses. ''The hospice will work in three basic directions: 24-hour service for simultaneously 10 children and their parents; daytime center, where children and their parents will stay from morning to evening to receive necessary services; home care service, which exists for already one year and which provides services to 26 children, will continue to operate'', is noted in the statement. In full… Source: www.osgf.ge  

Tbilisi. For the first time in Georgia, with the support of the ''Open Society Georgia Foundation'' a Children's Hospice is in the process of establishment, which will carry out palliative care. The purpose of the center is to provide help to children with terminal illness, to assist family members. The Children's Hospice will be open soon, become a Santa and support the hospice via donation. In full… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. On December 8, ''Transparency International – Georgia'' published a study related to the pharmaceutical market. ''The study provides main trends existing in this field, challenges and necessary recommendations for resolving them. Reporting period of the study covers mainly 2012-2016 years, however, it includes some of the earlier subjects too'' – is stated on the website of the organization. In full... Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia has started to check the quality of water at public schools of Georgia following the appeal of the Young Teachers’ Union and the Management System Development Center. ''According to the reply received from the National Food Agency, they examined 129 samples of public school water in 2015-2016, 45 out of which failed to meet the requirements of the Decree No 58 on the Drinking Water Technical Regulations adopted by the Government of Georgia on January 15, 2014, which is caused by ineffective disinfestation of water and refers to the epidemic unsafety'', is noted in the statement. In full… Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. In Tbilisi the first children's hospice has been built. The hospice is a house where children with chronic illness will spend the rest of their life, and where it will be ensured that their pain is managed, spiritual and physical aspects are taken care of and family members are supported. A ''Children’s Hospice Friend'' competition has been announced to facilitate improvement of the children's hospice. Any interested individual or organization is encouraged to provide an assistance. In full… Source:The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. Partnership for Human Rights publishes an infographic, which reflects an increased indicator and reasons of transfer of persons with disabilities from the Martkopi pension to a mental health care unit. In full… Source: phrgeorgia.wordpress.com

Tbilisi. On November 6 at ''Kiwi'' Vegan Cafe Women's Fund in Georgia held an event to support Guerrilla Gardening in Georgia. ''With this, importance of cooperation and solidarity among feminist and green movements was highlighted. Speakers of the event, Natia Kvantaliani and Mariam Bakradze spoke about veganism, civic activism and vegetation. Rezo Kiknadze and other musicians played for the guests of the event and later the aucience had a chance to taste Kiwi's delicious vegan meals. The contributions from T-shirts, books & green-bags' sale went to support Guerrilla Gardening in Georgia'', is noted in the statement. In full… Source: Social Page

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) responds to the World Mental Health Day. The organization once again draws attention to the challenges that people with psycho-social needs are facing. In full… Source:The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10. ''Last year, within the framework of the mentioned activities, comprehensive monitoring was conducted in psychiatric institutions, which revealed a number of problems in this field, including the lack of funding for mental health, sharp lack of human resources and qualified personnel, infrastructure problems, etc. The Public Defender once again urges the state to take positive actions in order protect persons with mental health problems and their families from stigma, isolation and discrimination'', is noted in the statement. In full… Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Europe Foundation has developed a mobile application which will enable consumers to access official food safety inspection results for enterprises in Tbilisi via smartphone. "The application provides the easiest and most user-friendly method for accessing information on official food safety inspection results in Georgia. Any interested individual can search for any desired food enterprise by its legal name, identification code, location (in Tbilisi districts) and/or production type to see how many inconsistencies (if any) the National Food Agency (NFA) has revealed and whether any of these inconsistencies were of critical importance”, is noted in the statement. In full… Source: www.epfound.ge

Tbilisi. The Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes a blogpost: ''Narco-policy in programs of political parties''. ''Analysis of party programs will help us understand what their vision in regard to narco-policy issues is and whether they perceive the problem as only a part of the criminal justice system or also as a public health and social vulnerability problem'' - is stated in the article of the organization. In full… Source:emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. On September 6-7, 2016, Nika Kvaratskhelia, Head of the Department of Prevention and Monitoring of the Public Defender's Office, participated in a symposium organized by the Association for the Prevention of Torture. The theme of the symposium was the monitoring of psychiatric institutions. ''The symposium participants praised the working methodology of Georgia’s National Preventive Mechanism, while Timothy Harding, expert of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, stressed the fact that the presented methodology was fully consistent with the Committee’s approaches and working methodology,'' is noted in the statement. In full… Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. On July 28 Europe Foundation held a conference on food safety and consumer rights. The thematic discussions focused on food safety control systems, transparency of food enterprise control results, civil society participation in the reforms, risk assessment in the SPS field, and cooperation between public institutions working on food safety and consumer protection issues. In full… Source: Social page

Tbilisi. At the end of 2016 it is planned to open a Children Hospice in Georgia. This will be the first institution/house, which will provide palliative care to children, ill with chronic and incurable disease. ''In 2013, a study regarding needs of children palliative care in Georgia has been conducted. The study has revealed that every year 839 children of age from 0 to 18 years need palliative care in Georgia. Within the framework of the competition the ''Children Hospice'' and the ''Open Society Georgia Foundation'' invite individuals and organizations to propose ideas in regard to a hospice logo ''Fireflies world'''' – is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full… Source:www.osgf.ge

Tbilisi. By the end of 2016, in Tbilisi will be established a small family type house, which will completely be adapted to the needs of children with disabilities. ''In this house will be accommodated those children, who, at this stage, are under the state care and live in an orphanage. The United States Agency for International Development and the United Nations Children's Fund help the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs in development of a new service'' – is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full… Source:unicef.ge

Tbilisi. The ''Association of Young Financiers and Businessmen'', together with a non-governmental organization ''Healthcare Platform'' continues monitoring of prices at the medicaments market. "According to the latest survey, the index has increased by 17.43% and reached 13 points, which indicates that prices at the medicaments market are significantly increased. Out of 200 variety of medicaments, which are the objects of the survey, prices are increased on 78 of them, while on 6 of them prices are slightly reduced, which has determined the increase of the ''Panaskerteli index'' – is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full… Source:afba.ge

Tbilisi. On 24 February, 2016, the Public Defender addressed the Government, the Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs, and the Minister of Corrections to establish the fact of degrading treatment and discrimination on grounds of nationality of an inmate in penitentiary institution N17. ''On 24 February, 2016, the Ministry of Corrections informed the Public Defender that as a result of active cooperation and communication with the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs, the problem indicated in the Public Defender’s recommendation had been eliminated, and as of today, all foreign citizen/stateless persons placed in penitentiary facilities, including K.K., have the opportunity to get engaged in the State Program on First-Phase Measures for Management of Hepatitis C. According to the letter of the Ministry, the issue is regulated by article 2 of order N169 on "Approval of State Program on First-Phase Measures for Management of Hepatitis C” adopted by the Government of Georgia on 20 April 2015,'' is noted in the statement. In full... Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. On 16 – 28 March, 2016, ''Transparency International – Georgia'' conducted a public opinion survey throughout the country. ''The most important health care related findings of the survey are as follows: health insurance: the part of the population that is ready to share financial responsibility with the state has increased by 10 percentage points in comparison with the year 2015, in particular, 56% of the population charge with the health care financial responsibility not only the state but themselves too, which figure, as the respective analysis determines, equals to at least 2.5 million citizens of Georgia'' – is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full... Source:www.transparency.ge