Georgia - DHA-06: 1-31 October 1996

  DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS
Situation Report from the DHA Coordinator in GEORGIA - No. 6
Period covered: 1-31 October 1996



HIGHLIGHTS
UNDHA Organises Donor Meeting in Moscow

Agencies Undertake Mid-Term Review of the UN Caucasus Appeal

Georgian Government Holds Session on Social Protection Issues

Government and Agencies help Georgians fight lodine Deficiency
and Tuberculosis

NGOs attend meeting in Pitsunda on humanitarian situation in
Abkhazia

OVERALL HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
On 31 October, DHA organised a meeting in Moscow to provide
information on the humanitarian situation in Georgia to donors
who cover Georgia from Moscow. Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Finland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and
Switzerland attended the meeting, which included presentations
by three high-level Georgian Government representatives, an EU
representative, and a member of the NGO community. While the
aim of the meeting was to provide information, as opposed to
asking for specific contributions, it served as a stepping
stone to the consultation with donors in Geneva planned for 27
November to review the status of the current Caucasus Appeal.

At the end of May, UNDHA issued the UN Consolidated Inter-
Agency Appeal for the Caucasus: June 1996-May 1997. With almost
one half of the appeal period over, donors have responded with
only 32 percent of the resources requested for Georgia.
Government ministries, UN Agencies, IOs and NGOs recently
reviewed the humanitarian situation as it stands now, and
defined priorities until May 1997. The review also focused on
the transition from emergency relief to development. A meeting
with donors is scheduled for 27 November in Geneva to raise
funds for promoting activities as outlined in the mid-term
review paper.

On 5 October 1996, the Georgian Government held a session on
social protection issues. The meeting summarised the results of
regional discussions on social issues as well as the plans for
future action. A wide range of social issues, such as the
pension system, protection for the disabled, and unemployment
benefits, was raised. Various speakers from around the country,
including President Shevardnadze, made presentations. UNDHA
provided an overview of emergency relief issues and highlighted
the transition from relief to development.

Considering the level and the severity of iodine deficiency
disorders (IDD) in Georgia and also taking into account the
recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the
UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the President of Georgia issued a
decree on the creation of a co-ordination council against IDD.
On another note, the need for public awareness of the threat of
tuberculosis was stressed at the press conference held by
Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) on
16 October. According to the GTZ specialists, there is a very
high index of TB-affected persons among the population of
Georgia.

A non-governmental organisation, the Abkhaz Association for the
Support of the United Nations, held a seminar in Pitsunda with
the aim of presenting the views of the NGO sector about the
present humanitarian situation in Abkhazia to expatriate NGOs
and UN Agencies. The seminar was supported by all major local
NGOs in the region. The results of the meeting were information
exchange on humanitarian issues, and the creation of links
between local and expatriate NGOs for possible collaboration.

SECTORS: Agriculture
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation is in the
process of delivering 346 MTs of wheat seed to Georgia. FAO, in
cooperation with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, will
distribute the seeds to private farmers and farmers
Associations in the Kartli and Kakheti regions.

Children in Difficult Circumstances
Aid Agencies continue providing assistance to children in
orphanages. Caritas Denmark donated clothes to the boarding
schools in Tianeti and Akhalgori. EMSA distributed second-hand
clothes and iodised salt to the Akhaltsikhe boarding school for
children with neurologic disorders and to the orphanage in
Aspindza. Counterpart Foundation distributed winter jackets and
school supplies to the orphanage in Dzegvi, Mtskheta. Save the
children is working on improving the living conditions of the
Kaspi orphanage by rehabilitating it.

Education
The situation in education sector remains critical, perhaps
even more so because of the lack of financial support to key
agencies in the sector. No contributions to the UN appeal have
been made, thereby making the initial requests for USD 1,142,
400 ever more pressing. Declining standards of education could
hinder the countrys long-term development.

The highest priorities in the education sector remain:
Nation-wide provision of basic education supplies and text-
books,

Assistance to kindergartens and primary schools,

Basic supplies and teaching aids to schools in Abkhazia and
South Ossetia.

Food Aid
Despite the recent improvements, there still exists a need for
food assistance in Georgia, especially in mountainous and rural
areas. The coordination of overall food activities in Georgia
is continuing under the leadership of the World Food Programme
(WFP) and the Governments Coordination Bureau for International
Humanitarian Assistance, CBIHA, Food rations have been
standardised and various feeding projects have been allocated
to clearly defined geographic areas of operation to minimise
overlap and duplication, while at the same time ensuring that
all food insecure are covered. Distributions of WFP commodities
were carried out previously by WFP implementing partners, but
now WFP is distributing its food directly. WFP is using a new
system of identification of vulnerable households, which has
helped to identify 178,000 persons as being in continued need
of food aid in the areas assisted by WFP. It is precisely these
people who are now assisted by WFP with a supplementary food
basket. During October, WFP carried out second-round wheat
flour distributions in Ajara, Imereti and started the first
round of distribution in east Georgia.

Along with WFP, other Agencies continue delivering food
commodities as well, Action contre la Faim (ACF) has started a
dry food distribution in Samegrelo, and Caritas Denmark is
continuing food distribution to 15,000 beneficiaries in
Akhalgori, Kaspi, Mtskheta, and Tianeti. International Orthodox
Christian Charities (IOCC) is also starting food distribution
to beneficiaries in south Georgia. International Federation of
the Red Cross (IFRC) distributed food parcels to the elderly
and handicapped persons in different regions of Georgia. The
Organisation for security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
distributed wheat flour, vegetable oil, sugar, and butter to
IDPs from Tskhinvali, currently residing in Tbilisi. The
governement, on its part, helps the vulnerable strata of the
society. For example, in Poti the city authorities run free
soup kitchens for needy persons.

Health
The significant increase of some socially dangerous diseases,
such as tuberculosis, has been reported. WHO started
implementing its TB management policy in three regions of the
country. GTZ has been providing medicines and medical equipment
to fight the scourge of TB. The Agency donated
spectrophotometer and reagents for biochemical tests to the
medical service of the paper factory in Zugdidi and biochemical
laboratories, binocular microscopes, hospital beds and colour
sets of detection of TB bacteria to the TB hospitals in Batumi,
Kutaisi, and Poti. The Agency also delivered anti-TB medicines
to the hospital in Mestia.

World Breastfeeding Week: UNICEF supported a presentation of
the Georgian Lactation Management clinic on 3 October at the
childrens hospital no.3 in Tbilisi. At the end of october,
several seminars were held by UNICEF on breastfeeding, baby
friendly hospitals, and child growth monitoring for IDP
physicians. Concerning support to health structures, UNICEF
distributed essential equipment to the ambulatories, rural and
district hospitals in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, and the
mountainous districts of Ajara. Wool blankets were distributed
to the maternity home in Mtskheta and maternity departments of
the Akhalgori and Kazbegi district hospitals. The Agency
distributed essential medicines to three childrens polyclinics
in Tbilisi and provided acute respiratory infection kits, oral
rehydration salts, essential medicines and equipment to the
childrens polyclinic and childrens hospital in Rustavi.

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation repaired the
waiting room at the Tbilisi Republican Childrens hospital and
the hospitals emergency car. The agency distributed mattresses,
bedspreads, clothes and food to the Zhinvali psychiatric
clinic.

ACTS Georgia and Georgian Foundation continue delivering
medicines and medical supplies to different medical
institutions in Abkhalsikhe, Chkhorotskhu, Kutaisi, Ozurgeti,
Senaki, Tbilisi, and Tsnori.

IFRC continues its pharmaceutical assistance programme to the
medical institutions in west Georgia and Svaneti. Under the
same programme the agency has organised seminars on psychiatry
and epilepsy on 1-8 October.

Logistics
The World Food Programme has completed the reconstruction of
the Banusha bridge, which connects Georgia and Armenia by
railway. The official inauguration of the bridge is planned for
5 November, during the -Days of Britain- in Georgia.

Refugees and IDPs
Much progress has been made in this sector due to the combined
efforts of donors, who have made available USD 5,758,309 out of
the USD 10,818,881 requested, and agencies providing
assistance. On the whole, there are principally four types of
activities taking place to support IDPs, emergency relief,
shelter, agriculture, and income generation.

While significant progress has been made, the need for
continued emergency relief is serious, especially in light of
the fast-approaching winter. IDPs living in communal centres
face enormous challenges, and assistance, such as the provision
of heating fuel or wood, hygiene items, worm clothing and
blankets, will be vital to ensure their survival.

United Nations Office in Tbilisi, Georgia
Mr. Toby Lanzer
Tel.: (995 32) 94 31 63
Fax: (995 32) 95 95 16
E-Mail: toby@undha.org.ge

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
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 at dha.unicc.org