Regional Focal Point Caucasus & Central Asia

The fourth Regional Focal Point of IFHHRO was launched on 11 February 2011 in Tbilisi, Georgia. The RFP is hosted by the Global Initiative on Psychiatry (GIP) - Tbilisi and its focus area is the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Among others, the aims of this new RFP are:

• Disseminating information on promoting health related human rights in the region and enabling health professionals in monitoring the Right to Health.
• Organising regional trainings on the realisation of the Right to Health.
• Facilitating cooperation and exchange of expertise, experience, ideas, on health & human rights issues, between health professionals in the region.
• Providing IFHHRO and its members with relevant information on health and human rights issues from the region.

The first activities of IFHHRO and GIP -Tbilisi will be the regional workshop on the Right to Health (February 2011) and a series of trainings for medical doctors and nurses in Georgia.

Global Initiative on Psychiatry - Tbilisi

GIP-Tbilisi assists professional communities, NGOs, international agencies, governments and other development institutions in the Caucasus and Central Asia to improve rights-based mental health care.

The organisation started its activities in May 2003, under the name of "Geneva Initiative on Psychiatry - Tbilisi" as Regional Support Centre for Caucasus and Central asia. In April 2005 the name of the organisation has been changed to "Global Initiative on Psychiatry - Tbilisi"(GIP - Tbilisi); it is part of the global GIP network (GIP - Hilversum, GIP - Sofia and GIP - Vilnius).

GIP - Tbilisi aims to work at 3 levels of society to achieve maximal effect:

1. Micro Level: In order to find innovative, locally appropriate and acceptable approaches to mental health care in Caucasus and CA region, new, innovative projects and activities are sought and supported. Because of its experimental and piloting character, a proper monitoring and evaluation of results is strongly present.
2. Meso Level: Here the strategy is to challenge the old soviet model of psychiatry and press for more appropriate, human rights-based mental health care approach by provision of modern literature, training, workshops and conferences to the main actors in mental health care.
3. Macro Level: The main strategy is to influence the governments to adapt or change current laws on psychiatry conform to universal human rights and to modern standards on mental health and to push government to apply the laws and by-laws into practice; to support development of relevant MH policies and plans; to created the monitoring mechanism and supervising independent bodies for ensuring human rights protection of people with mental ill heath.

Colleagues at GIP - Tbilisi

Nino Makhashvili, MD, Director
Maia Kundadze, MD, Project coordinator
Jana Javakhishvili, psychologist, Project coordinator
Tamar Okujava, MD, Project coordinator
Nino Agdomelashvili, Project coordinator
Giorgi Cheishvili, MD, Project coordinator
Irina Chopikashvili, Financial Manager

For more information please contact the IFHHRO RFP for Caucasus & Central Asia at:

GIP - Tbilisi
www.gip-global.org
49A Kipshidze Street
Tbilisi, 0162, Georgia
Tel/Fax: +995 32 214006 / 08
or +995 32 235314       
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it