Georgia

Vulnerabilities in the South Caucasus region remain high because of political instability, climate change, lack of structural development and decentralisation, lack of economic diversification, and social inequalities. The region also faced fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war and the 2023 conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, which displaced over 100,000 people to Armenia.

In 2023, our work in Armenia was scaled up to help refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh. Together with local partner organisations we provided essential support and services, in particular for children and their caregivers, older people, people with disabilities and those in remote and border- area communities.

Over 13,290 refugees benefited from the distribution of vouchers, 1,217 received multi-purpose cash support, and another 157 highly vulnerable people benefited from distribution of food and hygiene assistance to cover their basic needs. We also provided mental health and psychosocial support through our local partners to 750 refugees who had experienced a high degree of stress and trauma in the run-up to their displacement in September to Armenia.

Work on awareness raising and education on unexploded ordnance and mine risks for children and young adults continued in Armenia.

In Georgia, 886 highly vulnerable Ukrainian refugees received food and hygiene items and three volunteer organisations received capacity building support to improve their services for refugees experiencing trauma, lack of income, difficulties finding affordable accommodation and accessing health services.

In Georgia and Armenia, we continued to provide technical assistance to state agencies to help them enhance the employability and entrepreneurial skills of participants in their programmes. Meanwhile in Georgia and the breakaway region of Abkhazia, our work on community-led local development focused on environmental initiatives, women’s empowerment and leadership, and youth participation. This resulted in financial support for projects to improve community infrastructure, access to basic services, and job creation.

Also in Abkhazia, winterisation support and agricultural livelihood training increased the self-reliance of vulnerable families, while vocational training in carpentry, plumbing and metal work was provided for young people. Our multi-year WASH in Schools project provided 5,202 children with access to clean water and improved sanitation facilities during the year.