On 29 February, IOM Georgia held the first project steering committee meeting for the project - "Georgia Cares". The committee comprised of the representatives from the Ministry of IDPs, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, World Health Organization, IOM Georgia, Swiss and Austrian Embassies in Georgia, discussed strategies, collaborative frameworks and outlined the roadmap for the project implementation. The meeting is a significant step forward in addressing the drivers of health-related migration from Georgia.

The project "Georgia Cares" aims to support the Government of Georgia efforts to address the underlying drivers of health-related migration. Through a comprehensive study, the project intends to provide insights into the phenomenon, leading to concrete actions in a Joint Action Plan.

Health-related migration has emerged as a critical issue, contributing substantially to the surge in asylum applications within the EU+ region, which has nearly tripled over the past five years. 

The project is funded by the Switzerland - State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) and Federal Ministry of the Interior of Austria.