The Georgian Civil Society Sustainability
Initiative continues its awareness-raising campaign to prevent the further
spread of COVID-19. Currently the campaign covers 647 pre-selected locations
(cities, villages, regional centers, and settlements) throughout all ten regions
of Georgia. As one of the upcoming actions, 22.500 grocery bags with imprinted
information on preventive measures against the spread of the virus as well
contact details of relevant institutions such as the Emergency Response Centre
112, the Public Safety Management Centre, the Ministry of Health, the National
Centre for Disease Control and the Government’s encompassing 1st-level hotline,
will be distributed. They will be handed out free-of-charge by grocery stores
operating in rural communities.
The initiative is funded by the European Union
(EU) and co-funded by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS). With the engagement
of regional project hubs, partnering businesses, the local self-government,
volunteer groups as well as local and international organizations, the campaign
aims to inform and update the population about measures to protect their health
and stay safe. The target population includes amongst other residents of cross-border
regions and remote villages, IDPs living in densely populated settlements, the
elderly and ethnic minorities as the risk of quickly spreading misinformation
within these groups and locations is high and likely.
“As the pandemic is a number one topic in the
media outlets worldwide, it is worth asking if it is necessary to organize
additional information campaigns. Our experience firmly shows „Yes” as certain
groups are in need of further informational support. On the one hand, it is
necessary for people to prevent the spread of the virus, but on the other hand,
and just as important, it is crucial to protect oneself from misinformation.
Within the next days, grocery packages delivered by the local government to
vulnerable groups will be equipped with special information stickers in
Azerbaijani, Armenian, and Georgian. Within the framework of the same campaign and
in cooperation with the local business partners “Elva”, LTD “Madliani 1”, LTD
“Leko”, LTD “Vasadze Bread”, LTD “Khelvachauri Bread Products”, LTD “Nagdi
Puri” and LTD “Tsinba” – highly trustable and socially responsible companies in
Imereti, Adjara, Samegrelo, and Guria – a total of 173.760 loaves of bread with
such stickers were already distributed.” said Lika Kiladze, Chairperson of the
Board of the Education Development and Employment Center.
The project „Georgian Civil Society
Sustainability Initiative” is implemented by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS)
in cooperation with the Civil Society Institute (CSI), the Consultation and
Training Center (CTC), the Center for Strategic Research and Development of
Georgia (CSRDG), and the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC).
The project is funded by the European Union (EU) and co-funded by the
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS).
