Georgian civil society has played an important role helping combat COVID-19 and support at-risk individuals and communities during the pandemic. USAID has supported that work through a number of activities, including a series of rapid response grants issued by USAID’s ACCESS Program. The expanded partnerships with community-based organizations reflect USAID’s emphasis on self-reliance, empowering Georgian society to develop and implement homegrown solutions to development challenges.
In 2021, we are expanding our network of civil society partners, with USAID’s ACCESS Program issuing nine new grants to local organizations working to combat COVID-19. These organizations will carry out work in a number of fields, including community mobilization and engagement, awareness-raising and capacity building, policy research and advocacy both at the local and national levels.
Below is the list of COVID-19 response activities receiving financial support from USAID under the grant program:
1. Cactus Media will build the capacities of medical personnel in Gali to work with COVID-19 patients. The organization will work to: raise local healthcare workers’ awareness of COVID-19 prevention, treatment, and hospital management procedures; and build bridges between youth in Gali and Zugdidi, engaging them to carry out joint activities for disseminating public health information about COVID-19 among their peers.
2. The Human Rights Center will mitigate the impact of COVID-19 among elderly residents of Shida Kartli through community mobilization and advocacy. Specific activities include: engaging community-based volunteers to provide direct support to elderly citizens; and advocating for stronger responses from local and national government and other relevant stakeholders.
3. The New Thinking Institute will identify and address the needs of ethnic minority communities in Kvemo Kartli during the pandemic, working with nine community centers in Marneuli and Gardabani municipalities to provide social support, public information, and advocacy on behalf of local residents.
4. Platform “Salam” will mobilize and empower persons with disabilities in Kvemo Kartli to advocate for their needs during the pandemic, providing networking, outreach, and advocacy support.
5. The Winner Women’s Club will reduce the harmful impact of COVID-19 on breast cancer patients in five Georgian municipalities. Specific activities include: providing psycho-emotional and peer support; and increasing front-line healthcare workers’ accessibility of information related to the treatment of cancer-patients during the pandemic.
6. Youth for Social Equality will promote the rehabilitation and integration of children with disabilities in mountainous communities during the pandemic, working closely with parents and facilitating their networking and collaboration to more effectively address issues of common concern.
7. Civitas Georgica will study and improve infrastructure safety, the safety of the educational process, and staff safety in the Georgian preschools and kindergartens, as well as increasing access to an uninterrupted early childhood education during the pandemic and other crisis/emergency situations.
8. Coalition Education for All will study the impact of COVID-19 on educational processes in Georgia, working with key stakeholders to identify and develop viable strategies for filling key gaps.
9. The Collegium of Independent Educational Consultants will protect the rights and interests of people with autism spectrum disorder and their families, with a particular focus on their right to equitable healthcare. Specific activities include mobilizing civil society and private sector resources to: (a) identify key barriers to healthcare delivery and access for people with autism spectrum disorder; and (b) develop and promote a pilot model for treatment planning and service delivery that meets their needs.
