The roundtable discussion on issues related to the anti-drug policy and the elimination of the transmission of Hepatitis C took place on April 24th at the Courtyard by Marriott in Tbilisi. The members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, representatives of the Government of Georgia and NGOs attended the meeting. The Minister of Labour, Health and Social Protection of Georgia, Mr. David Sergeenko, and the Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance of Georgia, Mr. Sozar Subari, attended
Prior to the roundtable discussion, a conference was held. The foreign guests summarized the results of the meeting held with the government the day before and planned to discuss the reforms in Georgia.
The meeting was held in the framework of the four day visit of the international delegation. The goal of the visit is to review the funding opportunities for Hepatitis C and HIV treatment, drug laws and harm reduction programs and to support the reform.
The former President of Switzerland, Ruth Dreifuss, a former president of the Global Fund and currently UN Special Representative, Michele Kazachkini, and one of the directors of Open Society Institute, Daniel Wolf, visited Georgia.
The meeting between the guests and the members of Parliament will take place on the last day of their visit.
The interest of the international drug policy community towards Georgia has increased since 2013, when the program for Hepatitis C was launched in the corrections system of Georgia and the cost of Hepatitis C treatment in the public sector was reduced by 60%. These actions have been recognized by the entire world as an innovative approach for reducing the cost of Hepatitis C treatment.
Media about the event:
International organizations will be involved in elaboration of anti-drug policy strategy – Interpressnews.ge, 24 April, 2014.
International organizations will be involved in the process of developing anti-drug policy strategy. This is another big step forward in the development of the state anti-drug policy strategy, – stated the Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, David Sergeenko, before the roundtable discussion with the members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy was launched.
“This is a large-scale event that includes not only the legislative changes, but a much greater volume of work as well. One of the most experienced specialists in this field, as well as certain international organizations will be engaged in the development of this strategy. The major objective of holding this conference is to share their experience and thus, contribute to the development of the strategy” – said David Sergeenko.
The roundtable discussion on “the development of anti-drug policy and the elimination of hepatitis C in Georgia” is held in the Courtyard by Marriott Tbilisi. The meeting was opened by the Minister of Labor, Health and Social Protection of Georgia Mr. David Sergeenko and the Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance of Georgia Mr. Sozar Subari. The meeting is attended by the members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy and the representatives of the government of Georgia and non-governmental organizations.
