On December 7-8 Tanadgoma – Center for Information and Counseling on Reproductive Health organized the final conference of Bridging the Gaps project “Drug dependence – problems, challenges and future prospects” in Tbilisi.

The main goals of the conference were:

• To summarize the results of the project;
• To discuss existing services, needs and problems in three directions: human rights, health issues and psychosocial rehabilitation of people using drugs (PUDs);
• To strengthen cooperation between governmental and non-governmental organizations;
• To promote rehabilitation programs of PUDs;
• To identify future challenges and prospects.

The two-days conference united representatives of more than 20 international and national organizations and initiative groups from all over Georgia. In particular the employees of Ministry of Corrections, Penitentiary Department, National Center for Disease Control and Public Health and Ministry of Interior took part in the conference. On behalf of the project donor – Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jos Douma, the Ambassador of of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Georgia, opened the meeting.

Implementing partners from Georgia – Center for Information and Counseling on Reproductive – Tanadgoma, Bemoni Public Union and NGO “The World of Tolerance” told about the main features and main achievements of the project “Bridging the Gaps: Health And Rights For Key Populations”.

“The Conference is the final event of the project where the organizations involved in its implementation, as well as their partners from the non-governmental and governmental sectors evaluated its achievements, successes as well as difficulties that were overcome in the past four years,” – said Nino Tsereteli, Executive Director of Center for Information and Counseling on Reproductive Health – Tanadgoma. “Besides, the conference served as an important milestone in the overview of a full picture of existing services for PUD, their needs in three areas – health, psychosocial rehabilitation and drug policy, and the rights of PUD. As a result, perspectives for work and advocacy in the near future were outlined. I think the most important was that all the participants repeatedly stressed the importance of joining efforts by the government, NGOs and communities to improve the regulatory environment and access to services for PUD.»

The conference was held in the framework of the project “Bridging the Gaps: Health and Rights for Key Populations”  that implements the ICF “AIDS Foundation East-West» (AFEW-Ukraine) in cooperation with the Bemoni Public Union, Center for Information and Counseling on Reproductive Health – Tanadgoma and NGO “The World of Tolerance”. The project is implemented with the financial support of Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.