France continues to support the development of new Social protection policy in Georgia through the French Development Agency
At the occasion of the conference dedicated to the launch of the first cycle of technical cooperation between the French Development Agency Group (AFD and Expertise France) and the Government of Georgia, France, represented by its Ambassador to Georgia HE Mr. Diégo Colas, has announced the provision of a new grant in the amount of 1 million euros to support the reform of the social protection system.
The restitution conference, organized on June 17, 2021 by the AFD Group, in cooperation with the Ministry of Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Health, Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSHA) and the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia (MoESD), was the opportunity to present the conclusions of the first technical assistance program implemented between 2017 and 2020. HE Mr. Diégo Colas, Ambassador of France to Georgia, announced that France, through AFD, would mobilize a new grant of 1 million euros to support this ambitious reform program.
“The French Development Agency and Georgia are already trusted partners in the field of social protection. We have already worked well together on important reforms: pension reform, deinstitutionalization program in the field of mental health, aid policy for internally displaced persons. Last week Georgia and AFD concluded a comprehensive three-year work program, and reform of the social protection system is one of the pillars of that program. In this context, I am announcing today that we have reserved a grant of one million euros for technical assistance to make the link between the work already done and the reforms to come, and this grant will be disbursed over the weeks to come. We hope to turn the page of this difficult winter and stand ready to mobilize ourselves to help Georgia move forward. We hope to make progress in implementing reforms and consolidating institutions. Because this work of consolidating the institutions will, I am convinced, allow the Georgian success story to take the root”, said HE Mr. Diégo Colas, Ambassador of France to Georgia.
The first phase of this cooperation program, funded by AFD, enabled the mobilization of experts from Expertise France to support and guide the reforms of the social protection system initiated in 2016 by the MoLHSA. Technical assistance began with the support for the establishment and operationalization of the new Pension agency, in conjunction with the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development (MoESD). Subsequently, AFD Group also provided technical support to the MoLSHA teams. Three priority areas had been identified with the aim to improve the protection system of the most vulnerable: support to handicap, mental health and social protection reform for internally displaced persons. This technical assistance was mobilized in addition to a multi-year budget support program amounting 140 million euros in total.
During the conference, inaugurated by Ms. Tamar Gabunia, First Deputy Minister of MoLHSA, and Ms. Ekaterine Mikabadze, Vice-Minister of MoESD, Expertise France, represented by Mr. Audrius Bitinas and Mr. Antoine Pogorzelski presented the lessons learned of the technical assistance program. The representatives of the main beneficiaries of this support, in particular Mr. Giorgi Danelia, Director of the Pension Agency, also shared their feedback and recommendations on the work carried out.
“The Ministry has been receiving the technical assistance from AFD within the framework of the loan agreement between Georgia and the French Development Agency (AFD) in 2018.
The main areas of assistance are the following: results-based contracting in primary healthcare; strengthening the mental healthcare services; development of the deinstitutionalization plan for mental healthcare services; developing the human rights monitoring mechanisms in mental health facilities and assistance in the process of harmonizing the mental health regulatory environment with the EU regulatory framework. The purpose of AFD technical assistance is to provide affordable and quality health care. Apart from this, in terms of mental health, amendments to the Georgian Law on Mental Health have been prepared with the assistance of AFD experts. In addition, the work was also completed on a mental healthcare system development strategy for 2021-2025, and a study on adolescent mental health risk assessment has been conducted." said Ms. Tamar Gabunia, First Deputy Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia
At the conclusion of this event, Mr. Raphael Jozan, AFD Director for the South Caucasus presented the cooperation prospects for the period 2021-2023. AFD reaffirmed the need to be part of the continuity of actions carried out so far, while being part of a long-term reform program, in coordination with other players in this sector. This new phase of cooperation will notably support the development of a Georgian Social Code.
AFD Group implements France’s policy in the areas of development and international solidarity. The Group includes Agence Française de Développement (AFD), which finances the public sector and NGOs, as well as research and education in sustainable development; its subsidiary Proparco, which is dedicated to private sector financing; and soon, Expertise France, a technical cooperation agency. The Group finances, supports and accelerates transitions towards a fairer, more resilient world.
With our partners, we are building shared solutions with and for the people of the Global South. Our teams are at work on more than 4,000 projects in the field, in the French Overseas Departments and Territories, in 115 countries and in regions in crisis. We strive to protect global public goods – promoting a stable climate, biodiversity and peace, as well as gender equality, education and healthcare. In this way, we contribute to the commitment of France and the French people to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Towards a world in common.
