Educational Programme “Hygiene Protectors” was launched

Tbilisi, Georgia, 19 July 2022. A new project aimed at COVID-19 prevention and promotion of safe hygiene practices was launched by UNICEF in partnership with the Civil Society Development Center (CSDC) and with the support of USAID.

The project aims to inform socially vulnerable youths aged 12 to 17 about safe hygiene practices and develop proper hygiene practice behavioral skills through various educational activities. The first stage of the program implies intensive training for youths in hygiene protection, promoting a healthy lifestyle and youths' involvement in civil society for the first three days. The adolescents will be actively engaged in practical exercises, introduced to the essence of the club activity, develop clubs supporting safe hygiene with mentors' help and plan further activities.

The project will involve adolescents, including beneficiaries of different social institutions, school dropouts and beneficiaries of daycare centres, shelters, and small family-type institutions in Tbilisi, Rustavi, Gori, Batumi and Kutaisi.

Within the program, a first-ever Safe Hygiene Mobile Club in Georgia will be established based on the mobile school model, which will support vulnerable adolescents' learning process and social integration using a specially equipped bus.

UNICEF has been actively supporting the Government in promoting COVID-19 vaccination in Georgia. The ongoing project “The Preventing and Responding to COVID-19 in Georgia” with financial support from USAID has further helped the Government in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and minimizing the overall impact of the pandemic through: risk communication and community engagement; improved infection, prevention and control measures and water, sanitation and hygiene services; and provision of critical equipment and supplies to strengthen health services for the prevention and management of COVID-19, including COVID-19 vaccination and eHealth services.

Civil Society Development Center (CSDC) has been working on youth issues and actively implementing educational programmes for children representing various vulnerable groups.

About USAID in Georgia: As the leading development agency of the U.S. Government, USAID supports Georgia to build the capacity to plan, finance, and implement its own solutions to development challenges. USAID has worked in Georgia since 1992, supporting the country’s transformation into a developing democracy that is increasingly integrated into Western political, security, and economic institutions. More than 30 USAID programs strengthen Georgia's resilience to malign influence, consolidate democratic gains through enhanced citizen responsive governance, and enable high-value employment through increased economic growth.  For more information, please visit: https://www.usaid.gov/georgia.