Georgia was one of the earliest countries globally to pilot the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Joint External Evaluation (JEE) tool and has since built a substantial health security infrastructure — including a functioning Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), a national PHEM fellowship and systematic IHR 2005 implementation. This page summarises Georgia’s health security architecture and international commitments.
IHR 2005 — Georgia’s obligations and status
As a WHO Member State, Georgia is bound by the International Health Regulations (2005) — the legally binding international framework for preventing and responding to Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC). Georgia’s IHR National Focal Point is hosted at the Ministry of Health (MoLHSA) with operational coordination through NCDC. The IHR Focal Point is responsible for WHO notification of potential PHEICs, zoonotic disease events, food safety events and radiological events per IHR Articles 6–7.
Joint External Evaluation — key capacity scores
| IHR/JEE technical area | JEE score (1–5 scale) | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| National legislation, policy and financing | 4 | Demonstrated capacity |
| IHR coordination and NFP functions | 4 | Demonstrated capacity |
| Antimicrobial resistance | 3 | Developed capacity |
| Zoonotic disease surveillance | 3 | Developed capacity |
| Food safety | 3 | Developed capacity |
| Biosafety and biosecurity | 4 | Demonstrated capacity (Lugar Centre) |
| Immunisation | 4 | Demonstrated capacity |
| National laboratory system | 4 | Demonstrated capacity (LCPHR/Lugar) |
| Surveillance | 3 | Developed capacity |
| Human resources | 3 | Developed capacity |
| Emergency preparedness | 3 | Developed capacity |
| Emergency response operations | 4 | Demonstrated capacity |
| Linking public health and security authorities | 3 | Developed capacity |
| Medical countermeasures | 3 | Developed capacity |
| Risk communication | 3 | Developed capacity |
| Points of entry | 4 | Demonstrated capacity |
| Chemical events | 3 | Developed capacity |
| Radiation emergencies | 3 | Developed capacity |
Scores reflect approximately the 2021–2023 assessment period. JEE scores of 1–2 indicate limited/no capacity; 3 = developed; 4 = demonstrated; 5 = sustainable capacity. Georgia’s overall profile shows demonstrated capacity in laboratory, immunisation, legislation and points of entry, with developing capacity in surveillance, risk communication and human resources — consistent with a transitional middle-income country health system.
Emergency Operations Centre (EOC)
Georgia established its national-level EOC at NCDC in Tbilisi with US CDC support. A regional EOC was additionally established in Kutaisi (West Georgia) in 2021. The EOC provides a physical and functional coordination hub for public health emergency response, with trained incident management personnel, communication systems and a data management platform. More than 20 central and regional EOC personnel have been trained through CDC-supported programmes. During COVID-19, the EOC served as the central hub for coordinating the national response, linking the Prime Minister’s inter-agency commission, the Ministry of Health and NCDC.
PHEM Fellowship and workforce development
Georgia hosts a Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) fellowship — adapted from the US CDC PHEM programme to address the specific needs of the South Caucasus region. The fellowship trains public health emergency managers in incident command, situation awareness, risk communication and inter-agency coordination. Graduates are deployed to regional public health departments and NCDC rapid response teams. Georgia is positioned as a regional training hub for PHEM for the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region.
Georgian original source / ქართული წყარო
IHR National Focal Point & JEE — NCDC Georgia
Published by the Public Health Institute of Georgia (PHIG) · Surveillance & Epidemiology Hub · Contact PHIG
In plain language
The International Health Regulations (2005) are a binding agreement among WHO Member States to detect, assess, report and respond to public health events that could cross borders. Georgia builds and tests these capacities through its national public health institutions.
Key actions checklist
- Maintain a national IHR focal point available at all times
- Detect and assess events quickly through surveillance
- Notify WHO of events that may be of international concern
- Prepare points of entry and emergency operations
- Test preparedness through exercises and external evaluation
International guidance
Questions and answers
What is a Joint External Evaluation?
A voluntary, peer-led assessment of a country’s IHR capacities, scored across technical areas; results are summarised above.
How does this link to CBRN preparedness?
See the National CBRN Strategy (Decree N164).