Georgia: Humanitarian [DHA-04: 18-Sep-96]

Georgia: Humanitarian [DHA-04: 18-Sep-96]



           DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS
  SITUATION REPORT FROM THE DHA COORDINATOR IN GEORGIA
                No. 4, 18 September 1996
         Covering the Period 1-15 September 1996



HIGHLIGHTS

TACIS  expert  emphasises  increase  in area cultivated and
yield  per  hectare  for 1996 wheat harvest, although yield
still only covers one quarter of consumption needs.

Contributions  to  United Nations Consolidated Inter-Agency
Appeal  for  the  Caucasus:June  1996 - May 1997 are low to
date.

The Georgian Government signs Agreement with United Nations
High  Commissioner for Refugees under which the agency will
carry   out  its  protection  and  humanitarian  assistance
functions.

Meeting  of UNDHA Humanitarian Affairs Officers in Armenia,
Azerbaijan  and Georgia convenes in Yerevan on 13 September
1996  to  discuss  humanitarian situation in the region and
begin   to   focus   on   the  transition  from  relief  to
development.

OVERALL HUMANITARIAN SITUATION

In  a  briefing  held  at  the  World  Food Programme on 11
September,  TACIS  explained  that  the  1996 wheat harvest
appears  to  have  expanded  both  in  terms  of  the  area
cultivated  and  the  yield  per hectare. Despite this, the
estimated  yield  of  160,000  Mts  is  much  less than the
consumption  requirement  of  650-700,000  Mts.  A  special
working  group,  comprising  the  Ministry  of Agriculture,
donors,   and  key  humanitarian  organisations,  has  been
created  to  assess  whether  Georgia  will  face  a  wheat
shortage or whether commercial wheat imports will cover the
deficit.

An  agreement  between  the  Government  of Georgia and the
United  Nations High Commissioner for Refuges was signed in
Tbilisi  on 11 September 1996. The Agreement elaborates the
conditions  under  which  UNHCR  shall  co-operate with the
Government  and  carry  out  its  functions  in  favour  of
refugees and other persons of concern in Georgia.

By  the  end  of August, donors had made available only USD
8,704,391  out  of  USD  39,044,169, or 23.3 percent of the
funds   required,  for  programmes  in  Georgia  under  the
Consolidated Appeal for the Caucasus.

The  regional  government  in Kutaisi is working to resolve
economic   distress   by   promoting  factories  operation,
establishing   training   groups   for   those  wanting  to
specialise,   and   providing  support  to  small  business
projects.

SECTORS

Education
Action  Contre la Faim (ACF), in partnership with UNHCR, is
rehabilitating  sixteen  school buildings in Abkahazia. The
purpose  is  not  to  repair whole buildings, but to permit
them to accommodate pupils who attend the classes.

Food Aid
The World Food Programme (WFP) will soon start distribution
of wheat flour to 115,000 beneficiaries in Western Georgia.

ACF   continues   to   run  soup  kitchens  providing  food
assistance  to elderly pensioners, and distributes dry food
rations  to  some  20,000  beneficiaries  in  Samegrelo and
Abkhazia.

CARE  is  running  a  Georgian  vulnerable  groups  project
assisting  IDPs  living  in communal centres in the Kutaisi
area  with food. CARE has recently finished its nutritional
supplement  project  under  which  supplementary  food  was
distributed  to  38,000  pregnant  and  lactating women and
children  under  three. The agency now distributes dry food
to   the  population  of  mountainous  regions  in  Western
Georgia.

Due  to  lack of donor support the International Federation
of  the  Red  Cross  (IFRC)  recently  had to stop its food
distribution  programme which provided IDPs in Kutaisi with
essentials  every  three  months.  However, the agency will
soon  start  two  rounds of aid parcel deliveries to 14,000
single  pensioners  and  handicapped  persons.  A bulk food
distribution,  which  will include soap and washing powder,
will take place for various long-term hospital patients.

Health
COUNTERPART distributed medical consumables, doctors coats,
surgical  gloves, and bedding to the hospital Engurghesi in
Jvari,  Samegrelo. It also distributed medical consumables,
doctors  coats,  sterilisers,  and  bedding to the district
hospital  in  Senaki,  Samegrelo. The organisation provided
medical consumables, bedding, a medical refrigerator, and a
dental cabinet to the district hospital.

Income Generation
CARE has designed a small agribusiness providing assistance
and   training  opportunities to 180 fully privatised small
businesses  as a means to bring about sustainable increases
in household income and employment opportunities.

International  Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC)s project
of  blanket  production  by  IDPs  has  started  again. The
project  will  last  eight  months,  and  blankets  will be
distributed  to  families with many children in Tbilisi and
to childrens institutions.

United  Methodist  Committee on Relief (UMCOR) runs several
projects  in  Imereti,  employing IDPs on a buffalo farm, a
pig  farm and in a vegetable garden. The agency also runs a
sewing  plant employing twenty persons and has recently set
up a sausage factory.

Shelter and Relief Items
ACF  is starting a shelter project for IDPs in Zugdidi. ACF
is  about  to  finish building a sample house in which IDPs
could live as opposed to surviving in communal centres.

Arbeiter Samariter Bund (ASB) repaired IDP communal centres
in  Poti,  Samegrelo,  and  provided the inhabitants of the
centres with food and medical supplies.

The   International   Rescue  Committee  (IRC)  has  almost
completed  rehabilitation  works  at  the  Kutaisi  airport
hostel,  a  communal  centre,  where  300  IDPs  live.  The
organisation  repaired  the  roof, windows, doors, showers,
and  the  sewage  system  in  the  building.  Works  are in
progress to build an artesian well in the hostel yard.

                 ------------------

         HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE IN GEORGIA
       Produced by  UNDHA on 9 September 1996

         Agriculture              Capacity     Education
Food Aid
                         Building
Abkhazia             UNHCR               UNV          UNHCR
ACF
         ACF                  ICRC                UNICEF
PU
         ICRC                      NRC            ICRC

Ajara                CARE               MAG          UNICEF
WFP
                                   ICRC
IFRC

Guria                                                UNICEF
IFRC
                                   ICRC

Imereti                 IRC               MAG        UNICEF
WFP, CARE
         UMCOR                                      ICRC
UMCOR
                                                  IFRC

Kakheti                                              UNICEF
PU
                                   ICRC
IFRC

Kvemo    Kartli                                      UNICEF
TSA
                                   ICRC
UMCOR
                                                  IFRC

Mtskheta-                                            UNICEF
WFP, CARE
Mtianeti                                               ICRC
Caritas                                               D.,
         IFRC

Racha-                CARE                           UNICEF
CARE
Lechkhumi                                              ICRC
IFRC


Samegrelo               ACF                             GTZ
ACF
         IRC                       UNICEF         CAD
                                   OXFAM          IFRC
                                   ICRC

Svaneti                 CARE                            GTZ
WFP
                                   UNICEF         IFRC
                                   ICRC

Samtskhe-
Javakheti                             UNV            UNICEF
Lazarus-IOCC
                                   ICRC
IFRC

Shida
Kartli                                               UNICEF
Caritas D-G
                                                  CARE
                                                  IFRC

Tbilisi                                  UNV         UNICEF
CARE
                         CRS                        ICRC
Caritas G
                         MAG                      TSA
                                                  UMCOR
                                                  WAI
                                                  IFRC

                  ----------------



         Health         Income          IDPs
Relief         Special
         and       Generation                     Items
    Needs
         Nutrition


Abhazia   UNICEF                              ICRC
UNICEF
         MSF-France
UNV

Ajara          UNICEF    GTZ             Nuova
NRC
         IFRC      IFRC           Frontiera  Nuova
                                  IFRC       Frontiera
                                             IFRC

Guria          UNICEF
         MSF-Hol
         IFRC

Imereti        UNICEF    CARE            IRC       ACF
         ACTS      IRC                       IFRC
         UMCO UMCOR
         IFRC

Kakheti   UNICEF    FDD                       Counterpart
         ACTS      OXFAM                     EMSA
         Counterpart                              Nuova
Frontiera
         MSF-Spain-Greece                         PU
         IFRC

Kvemo
Kartli         UNICEF                    TSA       EMSA
    UNICEF
         ACTS                                PU
         Geor.Found.
         MDM-Greece
         IFRC

Mtskheta- UNICEF                   IRC        EMSA, IOCC
Mtianeti  IFRC                                IRC, PU

Racha-         UNICEF
Lechkhumi ACTS

Samegrelo UNICEF    ACF            ACF,       CAD
UNICEF
         Counterpart    IRC             CAD
Counter-
         MSF-Spain                IRC,       part, IRC
         IFRC                     OXFAM      NRC
                                  IFRC       OXFAM
                                             IFRC

Svaneti   UNICEF

Samtskhe- UNICEF    Lazarus-IOCC         Lazarus-
Javakheti Caritas G                IOCC
         IFRC

Shida          UNICEF    NRC             IRC
Counterpart
Kartli         ACTS                                EMSA,
         Counterpart                              IRC,
         Geor. Foundation                         TSA
         MSF-F, IFRC

Tbilisi        UNICEF    CaritasG.       UNICEF
CaritasG. UNICEF
         ACTS      LAZARUS        Counter-   Counter-
UN-
         Caritas        NRC             part
part      Caritas
         Georgia   OXFAM          Lazarus    Lazarus
Georgia
         Counterpart    World Vision         IOCC
NRC
         AMSA,Geor.                     MSF-Spain
TSA
         Foun. MDM-Gr.            MSF-Greec.      IFRC
         MSF-Hol., UMCOR                NRC,
         IFRC                     TSA,
                                  WAI

==========================================
United Nations Office in Tbilisi, Georgia
Mr. Toby Lanzer
Tel.: (995 32) 95 95 16
Fax: (4951) 51 86 33 ext. 182

Complex Emergency Division (CED) - New York
Mr. Kazuhide Kuroda
Tel.: (1 212) 963.5713
Fax: (1 212) 963.3630

Inter-Agency Support Branch (IASB) - Geneva
Mr. Arjun Katoch
Ms. Katarina Toll
Tel.: (41 22) 788.6381
Fax: (41 22) 788.6386


Press To Contact - (DHA-Geneva)
Ms. Madeleine Moulin-Acevedo
Tel.: (41 22) 917.2856
Fax: (41 22) 917.0023
Telex: 414242 DHA CH
E-Mail: dhagva@dha.unicc.org



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