Georgia Advocacy Agenda of People Living with NCDs

Despite notable policy efforts in recent years – including progressive tobacco control legislation and active participation in global NCD initiatives – Georgia continues to face widespread challenges in preventing and controlling NCDs.

NCDs such as heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, and mental health and neurological conditions now cause approximately 93% of all deaths in the country, a proportion even higher than the European regional average. Many of these deaths are premature and avoidable with proper interventions. The burden of NCDs weighs most heavily on the poor, older people, and rural populations, exacerbating health inequities. Risk factor prevalence remains high: for example, over a quarter of Georgian adults smoke tobacco daily and over a third are living with hypertension or obesity, according to nationally representative surveys. These underlying risk factors drive increased NCD incidence and complications.

Crucially, the human impact of NCDs in Georgia goes beyond statistics. People living with NCDs often encounter stigma and discrimination, particularly those with visible conditions or mental illness.

Many feel excluded from health policy decisionmaking – historically, policies have been designed “for” people living with NCDs, not “with” them. Georgia has made commitments in its national strategies to prioritise NCDs, yet gaps persist between policy and practice. Access to quality treatment and continuity of care are inconsistent; preventive services and early detection programs are under-resourced and lived experience voices are still underrepresented in governance. It is in this context that the Georgia Advocacy Agenda for People Living with NCDs was developed

This Advocacy Agenda was developed through a collaborative effort led by the Non-Communicable Disease Alliance in Georgia (NCDA Georgia). We extend our sincere gratitude to all the people living with NCDs and caregivers who bravely shared their experiences through surveys and focus group discussions, as well as to the health experts, civil society representatives, and government stakeholders who contributed their insights.