Public Health Institute of GeorgiaCaucasus · Central Asia · Eastern Europe · Türkiye ქართული

Health Security & Infection Prevention

Infection prevention and control, antimicrobial resistance, biosafety, laboratory quality, One Health and emergency preparedness across the Caucasus, Central Asia, Eastern Europe and Türkiye.

Operating theatre in a hospital under strain
Operating theatre in a hospital under strain

Why it matters in the region

Health care should not make people sicker. Yet infections acquired in hospitals and clinics remain one of the most common harms of care, and bacteria resistant to last-line antibiotics are spreading across Europe and its neighbourhood. Countries in the Caucasus, Central Asia and Eastern Europe face these threats with fewer infection-control specialists, weaker laboratory networks and limited surveillance.

Most of this harm is preventable with well-known, low-cost measures — hand hygiene, safe procedures, clean environments, sound antibiotic use and reliable laboratories. The gap is not knowledge; it is implementation, training and accountability. That is where PHIG works.

7 · 10of every 100 hospitalised patients acquire a health-care-associated infection (high-income · low- and middle-income countries)Source: WHO
+57.5%rise in bloodstream infections with carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae in the EU/EEA, 2019–2023Source: ECDC, 2025
>50%of health-care-associated infections can be prevented by simple measures such as hand hygieneSource: WHO
Health-care-associated infections per 100 hospitalised patients
High-income countries7
Low- and middle-income countries10
Source: WHO, 10 facts on patient safety

Our approach

We turn international standards into practical tools that Georgian and regional facilities can use, train the people who apply them, and push for the policies that make them stick.

Infection prevention and controlProtocols, prevention bundles and assessment tools for hospitals and clinics, in English and Georgian.
Antimicrobial resistanceSupport for surveillance, antibiotic stewardship and public understanding of antibiotic use.
Biosafety and laboratory qualityLaboratory quality systems and preparation for ISO 15189.
Preparedness and One HealthHealth security under the International Health Regulations, zoonoses and foodborne disease.

Projects and results

Selected work to date. Each entry shows years, role and result.

2020 – 2022

Public health advice during COVID-19

Government of Georgia · delivered by PHIG’s Chair

Principal public health adviser to the Prime Minister and Cabinet on pandemic management, policy and communication.

2026

Bilingual infection prevention library

PHIG · open access

13 infection prevention and control protocols and 10 national clinical guidelines published in English and Georgian.

Ongoing

ISO 15189 laboratory quality programme

PHIG with partners

Preparation, training and promotion for medical laboratories (not certification).

Ongoing

Surveillance and health security summaries

PHIG · open access

Plain-language summaries of Georgia’s surveillance system, notifiable diseases and IHR obligations.

Evidence, tools and resources

Guidelines and tools

Programmes and training

GMJ thematic platforms

Research, policy analysis and curated resources on this topic are published in the Georgian Medical Journal’s thematic platform and knowledge hub.

PHIG–GMJ knowledge hubAll GMJ thematic platformsThe full set of GMJ thematic platforms and knowledge hubs.Open knowledge hub →on gmj.ge ↗

Experts

Prof. Giorgi Pkhakadze, MD, MPH, PhDChair, Public Health Institute of Georgia

Former WHO staff member (Noncommunicable Diseases, Geneva); principal public health adviser to the Prime Minister of Georgia during COVID-19 (2020–22); member of the UN Secretary-General’s Independent Accountability Panel (2016–21); humanitarian and development work in more than 25 countries.

Work with us

We are looking for partners for regional work on infection prevention, antimicrobial resistance and laboratory quality in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

  • Joint training programmes for infection prevention teams, in Georgian, Russian and English
  • Adaptation and translation of WHO and ECDC tools for regional use
  • Point-prevalence surveys and infection-control assessments in facilities
  • Public communication campaigns on hand hygiene and antibiotic use through the Sheni network
Working on infection prevention or health security in the region?We join consortia, co-author research and deliver training.
Propose a partnership