On October 29th, theSwiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) project the Mercy Corps Georgia implemented Alliances Caucasus Programme (ALCP) hosted the President of the Swiss National Council Marina Carobbio Guscetti, First Vice President of the National Council Isabelle Moret, Second Vice President of the National Council Heinz Brand, Secretary General of the Federal Assembly at Swiss Parliament Philippe Schwab, Ambassador of Switzerland to Georgia Patric Franzen, Deputy Head of Embassy of Switzerland in Georgia Alvaro Borghi, and the Regional Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Georgia, Danielle Mewly Monteleone. The Mayor of Marneuli, MP’s of Marneuli and Rustavi and the Deputy Governor of Kvemo Kartli region were also present. The visit was part of an official visit of Swiss officials to Georgia, to open the new Swiss Embassy in Tbilisi, celebrate sixty years of UNICEF Switzerland, highlight the importance of the Swiss role in mediation and representation between Georgia and Russia and visit some of the outcomes of the significant investment through SDC in economic development in Georgia.
The delegation was introduced to the ALCP’s work in Georgia and the programme’s regional outreach in Armenia and Azerbaijan, emphasizing equitable impact and women’s economic empowerment in the dairy and honey sector’s and the regional programme of vocational agri-journalism trainings in fourteen universities in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The delegation visited the Women’s Room in Marneuli municipality highlighting gender sensitive budgeting training delivered through UN Women and the projects for and started by women through funding facilitated by the Women's Room. They then visited Milkeni Cheese Factory in Rustavi where the importance of sustainable community based enterprises supplied by local farmers was emphasized, as was the growing influence of the new dairy quality assurance mark, the Georgian Milk Mark www.Georgianmilk.ge/Milkeni.
To date, the ALCP has facilitated thirty-two cheese factories, creating a regular market for 23,000 farmers, seventy percent of whom are women; the Women’s Room Municipal Service is now operating in twenty-eight municipalities of Georgia with more than 17,000 regular rural women users, facilitating to date $2.4 million USD in government, civil and private funding for women’s initiatives and projects.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Minister of Agriculture, the National Food Agency and SDC funded, Mercy Corps Georgia implemented ALCP on March 31st 2015. Within the framework of this memorandum ALCP will facilitate the building of two Bio-security yards with water points on the Animal Movement Route in Kvemo Kartli region, another three Bio-security yards will be financed from the State Budget.
The advisors from 5 municipalities of Ajara were trained on how to increase women participation in community meetings. Following the training facilitated by ALCP AJ, they worked with the Village Representatives and as a result of their activities, the attendance of women in these meetings has increased by 10-15%.
Very soon the Kvemo Kartli Region will have a new regional mechanism for Disaster Risk Reduction implemented by Local municipalities and the Kvemo Kartli Governor’s office. The Governor of Kvemo Kartli Paata Khizanishvili discussed this topic with the Gamgebelies of the region, deputy governors, the Mayor of Rustavi City and representatives of Alliances Lesser Caucasus Programme (ALCP) on March 11, 2015. The importance of regional coordination and the necessity of creating working groups in all municipalities were highlighted during the meeting.
The Advisory Committee was established in Ajara, which is supposed to be a forum for regional players representing national, local and regional government, civil society and the private sector to tackle key issues in agriculture sector. The participants discussed the role of the Self-governments in Disaster Risk Reduction, wildlife related issues in the region and also clarified the functions of the newly formed Municipal DRR Working Group in five municipalities of Ajara.
A kindergarten was opened on February 17th in Boslebi Village, Dmanisi municipality as a result of facilitation by the Dmanisi Women’s Room. The Kindergarten will serve 30 children not only Georgians from Boslebi Village but also from neighbor Kakliani Village which is mainly inhabited by Azeris. Four local women will be employed there.
From the ISET Economist news (http://www.iset.ge/news/?p=4633)
By Eric Livny
The “do no harm” (primum non nocere) principle is well known to students of medical schools. It is one of the most fundamental maxims in medicine, as formulated, for example, in the Epidemics book of the Hippocratic Collection:
“The physician must … have two special objects in view with regard to disease, namely, to do good or to do no harm“.
Doctors are taught that medical interventions are not risk-free. Thus, when facing a “problem” one should consider whether to use a particular procedure (e.g. surgery or chemical treatment) or do NOTHING.
Not surprisingly, this very principle has applications in many fields other than healthcare. And it is high time for this principle to be studied and applied in Georgian policymaking.
