Healthy Women in Georgia (HWG) project was funded by U.S. Agency for International Aid (USAID) and implemented by JSI Research & Training Institute Inc. in collaboration with Curatio International Foundation, Save the Children, Orthos. The duration of the project was September 2003 – July 2006.

The objective of the project was to improve women’s health in Georgia. The HWG Program targeted selected facilities in the Imereti region at regional and district levels, and ten ambulatories at the primary health care level. The program developed “Women- Friendly” health care information, counseling and services in facilities and communities. District and ambulatory health providers, pharmacists, and “sakrebulo” (village council) leadership were engaged in the program.

“Parents’ Schools” for patients and clients were established in three district-level health care facilities, to provide information and counseling in formal courses. The HWG Program established a peer education system for adolescents in schools and community gathering places, and reached out to women in communities who did not attend health facilities.

Georgia has one of the highest abortion rates in the world. The HWG Program strengthened access to and availability and quality of modern methods of contraception for family planning, as safe and effective alternatives to abortion.

The objectives of the project:

Establish sustainable, accessible, and high quality “Women-Friendly” services in “combined” facilities (which respectively include a Maternity Hospital, Women’s Consultation Center, and Reproductive Health Cabinet) at regional and district levels in Kutaisi, Zestaphoni and Chiatura;.
Strengthen provision of women’s health information, counseling, and services, including antenatal care, contraception, and family planning at primary health care level in ten “ambulatories”, located in the coverage areas of the two facilities in Zestaphoni and Chiatura, develop referral procedures from primary to secondary level facilities, and encourage health providers to reach out to the village-based;.
Target women, men, and adolescents (patients/clients, service “drop-outs,” and those who have never attended health facilities) living in the coverage areas of the regional, district, and primary care facilities, increase their knowledge, and affect their practices and behaviors to improve healthy life styles and women’s health status;.
Increase availability and use of modern contraceptives as an alternative to present high rates of abortion, and to prevent sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) and contribute to the health of mothers and infants;
Update and improve women’s health care knowledge and skills among health care providers, with reference to WHO standards and international research-based medical and program evidence.