UN to allocate USD 1 million to support COVID-19 response in Georgia

TBILISI(BPI)- The United Nations will allocate USD 1 million for Georgia to help the country better respond to immediate health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and protect the most vulnerable groups from the devastating socio-economic impacts of the health crisis.

According to the United Nations Office in Georgia, Georgia is among the 46 countries that were eligible for immediate support from the United Nations COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to protect vulnerable groups from the shocks of the current pandemic.

The United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund for COVID-19 Response and Recovery, an inter-agency finance mechanism, was launched by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres on 31 March 2020, to help countries mitigate the emergency and bolster the post-crisis social and economic recovery.

On 15 May a proposal of the UN country team in Georgia was approved. It concerns a project of USD 1 million to better respond to immediate health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and protect the most vulnerable groups from the devastating socio-economic impacts of the health crisis.

“As we are fighting the Coronavirus outbreak, the primary goal today is to save lives of our citizens, stop the spread of the virus, as well as to contain the economic consequences and to set our economy up for a strong and sustainable recovery. We appreciate all the support from international partners to ensure the smoother transition from the global pandemic to a post-crisis reality,” said Natia Mezvrishvili, Head of the Administration of the Government of Georgia”, reads the statement of the organization.

“We are immensely grateful to the Governments of the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and Denmark who have provided a first contribution to enable the work of the United Nations COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund that helps support Georgia’s response to the pandemic and its impacts on human lives and livelihoods”, said Sabine Machl, UN Resident Coordinator in Georgia. “We are responding both to the immediate needs of the health system, in particular the front-line workers, as well as longer term needs of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in society and in this programme with a specific focus on children and the older people”.

The project ‘Assisting the Georgian Government and Local Communities in Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19’ will be implemented by UNICEF, UNDP and UNFPA in collaboration with all other UN agencies resident in Georgia.

This assistance is part of UN’s broader COVID-19 response in Georgia to help the authorities respond effectively to this unprecedented crisis. Since the first case of Covid-19 was detected in Georgia on 26 February, the UN country team has supported the Government to prepare and address immediate health needs as well as potential social and economic impacts with a focus on those furthest behind: women, children, older people, refugees, migrants and other vulnerable and marginalized groups.

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