OCHA Situation Report
Georgia
May 2003
10 June 2003


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

HIGHLIGHTS

1. During May 2003, the upcoming parliamentary election campaigns
increasingly involved the majority of political parties, the Parliament
and Presidents' office, in various discussions and preparations. Several
incidents were recorded, such as beating up or intimidation of political
activists. The opposition forces, which remained disunited, accused the
government and repressive police of inciting some of those incidents, but
were also blaming each other for lack of sincerity, competence and
commitment.

2. On 15 May 2003, Lord John Robertson, the NATO Secretary-General,
visited Georgia to check the country's preparation on its way to join the
alliance. After the meeting with the Georgian President, he declared that
the Caucasus is a very important region geopolitical-wise and that Georgia
is a crucial partner for NATO. On the eve of the visit of Lord Robertson,
President Shevardnadze formed a special commission, which would observe
the implementation of NATO recommendations aiming at transforming to the
Euro-Atlantic security structure.

3. The new focus on resettling the Georgian IDPs emerged from discussions
held in February 2003 in Geneva by a sub-group of the Security Council,
known as the "Friends of the Secretary-General" for Georgia. They
recommended that the establishment of the Task Forces to reinvigorate the
Geneva Process in coming months. Georgian and Abkhaz sides should work in
parallel on economic issues, the return of the displaced, and security
matters as well as the overriding status issue.

The Georgian and Russian Federation Presidents met in Sochi in March 2003
and agreed to a similar approach bilaterally to boost the peace process.
The main activities related to the ongoing preparations for the practical
implementation of the Sochi agreements were connected to the tour of the
Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for the
Georgian-Abkhaz Settlement and First Deputy Foreign Minister, Valeri
Loshchinin. He visited Tbilisi on April 24 and Sukhumi on May 4, then
stated that "Sochi Process" did not contradict the Geneva peace process
and that UN could help implement the projects for restoration of the
railway and Inguri power stations as well as help putting a legal
framework to the returnee process.

4. Construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, the single
largest investment project in Georgia in years, officially started on May
23 in the Tetritskaro region of Georgia. The ceremony was attended, among
others, by the President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze, BTC directors and
representatives of diplomatic missions accredited in Georgia. The Georgian
section of the pipeline will cross Gardabani, Marneuli, Tetritskaro,
Tsalka, Adigeni and Akhaltsikhe regions.

5. According to the Georgian State Department for Statistics release of
May 5, as per the findings of the national census taken in January 2002,
Georgia's population shrank by 1.1 million people: from 5.5 million in
1989 to 4.4 million at the beginning of 2002. The census did not cover two
conflict areas outside central government's control. As per official
communication, Georgian and international experts believe the population
of Abkhazia may be around 160,000 people at the moment, while South
Ossetia is home to about 70,000 people. Generally, the shrinkage of
Georgian population by such huge, almost 20 per cent, over the past 13
years, had been caused by an amassed outflow of workforce to other
countries in hope to get better living and working opportunities. Most of
the emigrants now live in the Russian Federation, but the emigration trend
shows increasing percentage of emigration to the Ukraine, Western Europe
and the USA.

Humanitarian and Development Update

Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation by WFP

In 2002, the World Food Programme's (WFP) Project Review and Formulation
mission visited Georgia. Considering the level of instability in the
region and widespread poverty in the country, the Mission recommended
continuation of the Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO), with
a greater focus on community participation and the creation of sustainable
assets. In October 2002, the WFP Executive Board approved PRRO 10211.0 for
a three-year period from April 2003 -- March 2006.

The overall goal of the operation is to contribute to the national
recovery and transition process through selected relief and Food-for-Work
(FFW) activities that maintain or improve human and productive capital
while longer-term structural reforms are adopted.

The PRRO immediate objectives are to rehabilitate/create agricultural and
social infrastructure assets, which will be used and maintained to benefit
vulnerable households in six regions of Georgia, as well as to provide
relief to elderly persons and other vulnerable categories (mostly women)
with no income other than inadequate state pensions, and to contribute to
maintaining a minimum acceptable nutritional status among food-insecure
Chechen refugees.

During the operation a total of 209,500 vulnerable people will benefit
from the programme including rural vulnerable households in six regions,
Chechen refugees, vulnerable IDPs, elderly pensioners and other destitute
groups such as women-headed households, vulnerable households with no
potential labor source and vulnerable persons in institutions under the
Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs (MoLHSA). FFW activities will
cover the five most vulnerable regions of the country -- Kakheti,
Samtskhe-Javakheti, Imereti, Guria and Racha-Lechkhumi. In addition, FFW
will extend to Samegrelo and Zemo Svaneti region where the situation is
even more aggravated due to the high concentration of IDPs.

Within the regions, targeting at the district and community levels will be
based on needs as determined by district profiling exercise, local
absorption and implementation capacity, availability of complementary
inputs, presence of other humanitarian NGOs, past experience of working
with communities, etc. The final decision on targeting of communities will
be made by WFP and its implementing partners in close collaboration with
regional and district authorities and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food
(MoAF).

The FFW component of the programme will cover 40,000 direct beneficiaries.
For each day of work they will receive a family ration consisting of 4
individual FFW rations. FFW supports agricultural activities such as land
reclamation, the improvement of the quality and management of common
pastures, land protection, the drainage of water-logged arable lands and
the rehabilitation of irrigation channels.

The Protracted Relief component will target the most vulnerable groups
through soup kitchens run be local municipalities and local and
international NGOs. WFP will encourage the extension of soup kitchens to
vulnerable IDPs living in collective centers.

Refugees from Chechnya comprise the balance of the PRRO's relief
beneficiaries. WFP, in cooperation with the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will ensure the basic food security for
about 6,000 refugees through the provision of mixed food ration. A total
of 50,493 tonnes of food will be distributed during the three-year
duration of the project.

ECHO Assessment Mission Visited Georgia

An ECHO mission composed of Mr. Jean-Claude HEYRAUD, Deputy Head of Unit
and Ms. Lea DROUET, Coordinator NIS of the ECHO office in Brussels as well
as Mr. Philippe ROYAN, ECHO Project Manager in Moscow visited Georgia in
May to monitor projects implemented under ECHO funding in Western Georgia
and to identify the remaining needs to be possibly covered under the 2003
budget. They were accompanied by Mr. Torben Holtze, Head of Delegation and
Julia Jacoby, Project Manager, both from the European Commission
Delegation to Georgia and Armenia. In 2002 ECHO has allocated 1.3m Euro to
support the most vulnerable in this region, affected by the frozen
Georgia/Abkhazia conflict. This programme is implemented by the
International Committee of the Red Cross and the Spanish NGO Accion Contra
el Hambre. The mission was quite satisfied with the progress achieved and
ECHO will now prepare a new decision for funding operations under the 2003
budget with an allocation of possibly up to 2m Euro.

The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors Approved a US$15 Million
Credit for the Second Georgia Social Investment Fund Project

On 15 May 2003, an agreement was signed between the World Bank Resident
Representative and Georgia Social Investment Fund (GSIF) on the
implementation of GSIF's second project. The project is aimed at
improvement of living standards among low-income communities in Georgia.
The objective will be achieved by promoting active citizen participation
in the implementation of sustainable community-level "micro-projects" and
by building capacity for community action and self-help in addressing
local socio-economic problems, as well as by introducing local governments
to the participatory development process.

The project has three components:

   Support to Communities, Local Self-Governments, and Local
   Non-Governmental Organizations. The component includes provision of
   training and technical assistance to communities in community
   development planning, and to local NGOs, among others.

   Micro-projects in Rehabilitation of Small-Scale Infrastructure. The
   component includes the financing of micro-projects to improve social
   and economic infrastructure.

   Institutional Support for the GSIF. The component entails strengthening
   of the GSIF's operational capacity through provision of training and
   technical assistance to the GSIF staff; provision of equipment,
   materials, and vehicles; and carrying out of technical, managerial and
   financial audits.


The project is expected to place an explicit emphasis on strengthening the
interaction between local self-government and citizens in improving the
quality of life in communities.

For more information, please contact Ms. Inga Paichadze, World Bank.
E-mail: ipaichadze@worldbank.org


HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE UPDATE

Food

In May 2003, Counterpart International distributed vegetable oil to about
14,559 beneficiaries (schoolchildren and vulnerable families) through 45
different schools of eastern Georgia.

Caritas Georgia continues its support to the most vulnerable through soup
kitchens. Approximately 400 vulnerable persons receive daily meal at soup
kitchens located in Isani and Saburtalo districts of Tbilisi. Most part of
the beneficiaries of the soup kitchens are single pensioners.

The organisation also provides home care services to the bedridden
patients through assisting them in homework, hygienic services and food
aid.

Shelter and Non-food Items

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) implements the shelter, water and
sanitation project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation (SDC) for IDPs living in Samegrelo region. The project
supports 26 families (118 persons) occupying the dilapidated summer
cottages along the Black Sea coast in Anaklia village, Samegrelo. So far,
nearly 9 houses have been roofed, door and window frames have been
installed, walls of 16 houses have been built and a foundation of 1 house
has been laid. Following the positive results of spring water test, the
members of selected Working Groups, IRC engineers, and local authorities
discussed the water supply piping scheme that has to be laid from the main
spring to the houses. In order to start the installation of power
transformer in the permanent housing settlement the meeting was arranged
with the local Power Supply Service.

In May 2003, Counterpart International distributed non-food commodities --
tables, cabinets, chests, armchairs and sofas to over 2,925 beneficiaries
(IDPs, children, orphans and vulnerable families) through 11 different
organisations.

Caritas Georgia continues its support to the Telavi, Kaspi and Kojori
orphanages. The organisation rehabilitated roofing, water-sanitation
system and cooking facilities, as well as living rooms. In addition,
Caritas Georgia provides Kojori and Kaspi orphanages with weekly food
assistance. Orphanage inhabitants participate in various programmes and
events organised by the organisation.

Another project of Caritas Georgia targets street children. Within the
framework of the project, 15 children aged 5-12 were placed in a special
apartment in Didube district of Tbilisi, where after full medical check-up
they can lead normal life and attend regular schools.

Healthcare

According to the data provided by the AIDs, Infection Pathology and
Clinical Immunology Centre of Georgia, the total registered number of
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus
(HIV) including May 2003 is 425. Sixty-six infected persons have already
died.

In May 2003, Counterpart International distributed various medical
equipment and supplies to 7 medical institutions of Georgia for providing
medical service to 4,100 patients.

Produced by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA)-Georgia

For more information or your comments and suggestions please contact Ms.
Maka Esaiashvili, Information Officer.

Address: 
  9 Eristavi Street, Tbilisi, Georgia. 
  Tel: (995 32) 95 95 16, 94 31 63
  Fax: (995 32) 95 95 16
  e-mail:  maka.esaiashvili@unocha.org.ge


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