ADB to Help Enhance Health Care in Georgia
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (17 April 2024) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a €46.3 million ($50 million) policy-based loan to help improve access to quality and affordable health care in Georgia.
Under ADB’s Health Sector Enhancement Program, the bank will disburse the financing once the government has implemented a range of reforms to improve health sector governance and regulation, increase publicly funded primary health care and specialized outpatient and diagnostic services, and enhance the sector’s operational efficiency and financial sustainability.
“This program represents ADB’s comprehensive and integrated package of support to improve health care in Georgia,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov. “While it will help improve health care for all, this program will be particularly beneficial for the poor, women, and vulnerable groups.”
Georgia has high levels of noncommunicable diseases—including heart disease, hypertension, cancer, and diabetes—which reduce life expectancy and healthy aging. Strengthening government-funded primary health care and outpatient services can help to manage these diseases—most of which are preventable.
The program supports the redesign of the government’s primary health care benefits package, which should lead to better service coverage becoming more affordable especially for the poor and vulnerable. It also enables strategic purchasing to increase the share of quality health care providers contracted and supports changes in digital information systems to efficiently manage health care programs.
“As part of improving health services, this program will also help Georgia prepare its health care providers and the general public against the impacts of climate change that affect health,” said ADB Senior Health Specialist Brian Chin. “Among the government actions supported are the establishment of an early warning system and an information campaign on climate-induced hazards such as heatwaves.”
ADB has supported Georgia since 2007 and is one of the country’s largest multilateral development partners. ADB’s loans, grants, and technical assistance to Georgia total $4 billion.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
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Tbilisi City Hall to launch free lung cancer screening programme from May 1
29.04.2026.16:53
“Tbilisi City Hall is to begin funding a lung cancer screening programme from May 1,” Mayor Kakha Kaladze announced today at a session of the Tbilisi Municipal Government.
According to the Mayor of Tbilisi, free screening will be available to active smokers aged 45 to 75 who are registered in the capital, as well as to those who have quit smoking within the past fifteen years.
“We have helped countless families and individuals through the projects of our City Health and Social Services Agency. Tbilisi City Hall is now taking the next step by funding a lung cancer screening programme. From May 1, the procedure will be entirely free of charge for eligible residents and will be financed by the City Health and Social Services Agency under its Disease Screening Programme. Active smokers aged between 45 and 75 who are registered in the capital, as well as those who quit within the last fifteen years, will be entitled to a free lung cancer screening,” said Kakha Kaladze.
He added that the parameters of the screening programme, including the eligible age range, were determined in close consultation with leading specialists in oncology, radiology and pulmonology. Participating clinics and expert practitioners were selected based on their experience and qualifications.
“The screening will involve a low-dose computed tomography scan, which will be read independently by two radiologists. In the event of differing assessments, a case conference will be convened with the involvement of a third radiologist. Tbilisi City Hall has selected leading clinics that meet the required standards in terms of specialist expertise and technical infrastructure to deliver the programme. At this stage, sixteen medical institutions located across different parts of the capital will be participating in the programme,” the Mayor stated.
Kaladze also noted that lung cancer ranks first in the world for cancer-related mortality, and that screening of high-risk individuals aids in early detection and can increase survival rates by as much as seventy per cent.
