Senior government officials, representatives of the diplomatic missions to Georgia, international missions and NGOs and media gathered on June 16, 2010 for a workshop on Poverty in Georgia, Causes, Features and Responses hosted by CARE International in the Caucasus.

 “Talking about poverty, and its causes and consequences is of the outmost importance right now and should be at the forefront of any reflection on the economic and social development of the country,” stated Francois Massoulie, Deputy Head of the Economic, Political and Press Section of the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, as he inaugurated the workshop. “ So, often, when we talk about economic development, we keep our focus on issues such as growth, investment, trade and so on…which are, of course, very important concepts, but we cannot miss that, at the end of the day, the development we are looking for is human development, inclusive development, where the society at large can benefit from growth, from investment, from trade, and thus, development that brings people out form poverty,” he continued.  

In the follow-up address Jonathan Conly, USAID Mission Director, noted how important it is to understand the dynamics and dimensions of poverty for all stakeholders to provide more targeted solutions. He also stressed how critical is to teach people help themselves get out of poverty. 

“Social assistance alone cannot eliminate poverty, but remains a critical income source to reduce hardships for poor households.  The Government of Georgia’s Targeted Social Assistance Program has been key in eliminating extreme poverty and reducing income inequality in Georgia," said Jonathan Conly, USAID Mission Director.  "Targeted social assistance will still play a role, but it is my hope that increasing numbers of people will exit poverty and social assistance will be more intensively targeted to those who remain in need.  There is more dignity in earning income through labor and entrepreneurship, than through welfare," he added. 

The workshop provided an opportunity to share findings and analysis from two recently conducted surveys by CARE International in the Caucasus and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Mr. George Ghlonti, operations manager at CARE International in the Caucasus and Dr. George Welton, an independent expert, presented the findings of the study which explored the underlying causes of poverty in four regions of Georgia. Mr. Jonathan Puddifoot, Director of CARE International in the Caucasus, elaborated on the conclusions from the survey and presented his recommendations (see the presentations here http://www.care-caucasus.org.ge/en/main.php?id=1276500236). 

Mr. Dimitri Gugushvili, Project Officer, Social Policy & Economic Analysis at UNICEF, focused more on the impact of the economic crisis on the Georgian households while Mr. Juan Echanove Agriculture Task Manager, Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, talked about the impact which agriculture can bring to reducing rural poverty in Georgia.

The Government of Georgia has made considerable efforts to provide safety nets for poor households. According to Social Service Agency of Georgia, over 470 000 people in Georgia receive state cash benefits. Mr. Moris Tsamalashvili, Deputy Director of Social Service Agency, discussed a new methodology for estimation of material welfare of poor households and talked about the changes which are to take place in the Government’s pro-poor policies. 

The workshop was wrapped up by a discussion on the reccomended policy actions for addressing poverty.