The Charity Event to Support a Local Hospice

11.11.2011

This year, Georgia has joined the global call against acute pain. With the support of the Open Society Foundations and OSGF the civil groups launched a nation-wide campaign entitled “No Pain in Our Families.” Its goal is to advocate for the fundamental human right to life without pain and create an environment where every human being has access to quality pain management.

Palliative care is the only field in Georgia where the standards of pain management are applied most competently. It is a multi profile treatment provided at special medical institutions called hospices. It aims at relieving the pain of individuals suffering from terminal illnesses and providing social and psychological aid together with moral support.

Currently, there are only two hospices operating in Tbilisi. Thanks to grants and other donations the palliative care is provided for free at the hospice of the Female Convent of the Transfiguration.

In the framework of the project a charity jazz concert will be held to support the hospice of the Female Convent of the Transfiguration. The concert will take place at Tbilisi State Rustaveli Theatre on Wednesday, November 16, at 9:00pm. Ticket prices are: 10 GEL, 20 GEL, 30 GEL, 40 GEL, and 50 GEL. Tickets can be obtained at the Rustaveli Theatre.

Funds raised through ticket sales, will be transferred directly to the Female Convent of the Transfiguration in Tbilisi. The convent plans to acquire necessary medicines and essential therapeutic goods for daily use.

Please, join us on November 16 at the Rustaveli Theatre-your participation is crucially important to helping this hospice and the broader goal of establishing modern pain management systems in Georgia.

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2011 is announced as the Global Year against Acute Pain. The Declaration of Montréal of 2010 recognises pain relief as a basic human right and says that every human being, without any discrimination should be eligible to adequate pain treatment.

Although the acute pain is treatable with currently available medications and techniques, a large gap between evidence and practice results in widespread under-treatment. Treatment of pain in Georgia is no exception. The local medical sector lacks practice in pain management and outdated attitudes towards enduring pain persist.

The campaign aims at creating demand for less painful medical care at the grassroots level. We believe that this will push policy makers and health care officials to introduce modern pain management methodologies.

In order to inform Georgian society that life without pain is not just a dream, but a basic human right, we launched the website www.tkivilisgareshe.ge. Within 24 hours of its launch, over two thousand users had registered their support on it.