A more inclusive response to the COVID-19 crisis
Published: May 13, 2020 Reading time: 2 minutes
To help support a more inclusive response to the coronavirus crisis in Georgia, People in Need (PIN) has partnered with SlovakAid to help people with disabilities.
On May 6, Dion Battersby, PIN’s Georgia Country Director, and Zuzana Palosova, a representative of the Slovak Embassy in Tbilisi, gathered in the capital for the delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the ATIP agency. The PPEs will help curb the spread of COVID-19 among residents and staff at boarding houses for people with disabilities, a community that is considered to be at high-risk of infection. In coordination with PIN, the ATIP agency will distribute PPEs to 178 residents and 182 staff at three state institutions in Dzevri, Dusheti, and Martkopi.
The provision of PPEs is designed to reinforce preventive measures that promote health, hygiene, and protection against COVID-19, and to help ensure that no one is left behind during this pandemic. With this project, PIN is also raising awareness that people with disabilities are often marginalized during health emergencies.
"This donation from SlovakAid enables us to support the work of ATIP Fund as they care for some of the most vulnerable groups in Georgia,” says Battersby. “The experience in Europe shows that residents of institutions are among the most affected by COVID-19 and highlights once again the importance of the ongoing de-institutionalization process." We support clients to move from residential institutions to independent (community) housing that can provide them more dignified social conditions and that increases their chances of self-realisation.
By providing the protective equipment, PIN has joined efforts with the government of Georgia to help deliver an inclusive response to manage the pandemic and minimize the spread of the disease.
