The Way to Save Oncology Patients in Abkhazia and Georgia

For the past three decades, the vast majority of people living in Abkhazia as a result of the conflict with Georgia (Republic) have been struggling with misery and poverty as a result of the occupied regime. Especially in recent years, morbidity has increased in almost all sections of the population, which, along with economic problems, makes their lives even more unbearable.

The most common diseases among people living in the conflict zone of Abkhazia are oncology, cardiovascular, neurosis and gastrointestinal problems.

The share of oncology patients in the total number of patients is more than 35% (established on the observations of the AMC). Such a large number of oncology patients is already a serious challenge, and in addition to this, the detection of these diseases occurs at a late stage, which greatly reduces the chances of cure! Taking preventive measures in Abkhazia, as well as in western Georgia, where the rate of IDP accommodation is highest (more than 100.0 thousand people, a total of 270.0 thousand IDPs in Georgia), here are about the same problems as in Abkhazia. Unfortunately, the situation is even worse in Abkhazia, because there are no qualified specialists, they do not have diagnostic equipment and therefore diseases are not detected early!

The most common oncological diseases in women are oncology of the uterus, breast, goiter, in men - lungs, bladder, gastrointestinal tract, etc.

To solve this acute problem, the Association "Peaceful and Business Caucasus" has been cooperating with many medical institutions for years, both in Georgia and abroad. The leadership of the organization, together with a group of experienced doctors, found the opportunity to cure cancer patients as quickly as possible, who are suffering from acute problems and could not solve these problems. This solution is based on the latest device, the medical device of ablation and embolization, first introduced by our team of doctors in western Georgia, and therefore, IDP patients will be allowed to be cured of acute diseases for the first time, which could not be afforded by our region. Our partner team of doctors (Paata Meshveliani, Alexander Chogovadze) will already be able to conduct bile duct drainage and stenting, hemolysis of hemorrhages, cure them of hepatocellular carcinoma, cure nodular arterial hemorrhage, almost all Peptic ulcer disease, hemorrhagic gastritis, pancreatitis-related pseudoaneurysm, neoplasm, aortoduodenal fistula, and other trauma. In addition, our organization will study and evaluate the causes of diseases, ways to solve them, including research on the causes of high levels of diseases in Abkhazia and western Georgia (causes of high levels of radiation, the presence of radiation waste graves left uncontrolled and open by the Sokhumi Institute of Physics and Technology; Etc.); The problem of environmental pollution as a result of damage to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is still great! A comprehensive problem-solving plan should be developed after the research. There will be a total examination of the health status of the population and early detection of cancer patients!

There are direct beneficiaries in the conflict zones - people living in the war in Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and the dividing lines of the conflict, suffering from health problems, in particular, oncological diseases!

Abkhazia and South Ossetia are currently occupied by Russia, most of the Georgian population has been expelled from there, the economy is ruined, medical institutions do not have qualified specialists, they do not have modern medical diagnostic equipment! The reason for all this is the conflict between Russia and Georgia and the war it waged against Georgia in 2008. As a result, artificial "borders" have been created between Georgians and Abkhazians, Georgians and Ossetians, which are controlled by the Russian military! Experts believe that such a high level of oncological diseases in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in addition to the above, is also caused by the stressful situation of the population, neurosis, feelings of hopelessness, and so on. This is based on the multi-year observations of the specialists of the APBC and the information provided by the beneficiaries of the projects implemented in the conflict zones. Neither the de facto government of Abkhazia nor the government of Georgia can solve the problem on their own. It is not in Russia's interest to solve the problem. The problem is described above and should be done through the efforts of Georgian, Abkhazian, and Ossetian NGOs, civil society activists, international organizations, and the Government of Georgia.

As already mentioned, our organization has been implementing humanitarian medical projects since 2004, including the most funded by UNDP. We also have a direct partner, Ms. Sharon Hamilton-Getz, who is the founder of World Peace Communications. They have been helping us financially to implement our medical projects for years. Our organization has also many years of direct personal connections with Abkhaz beneficiaries, some of whom work in various structures in Abkhazia. Long-term ties, good relations with many Abkhazian and Ossetian doctors, clinics there! Which, due to Russian propaganda, Abkhazians and Ossetians are still perceived as enemies, however, favorable conditions have recently been created to change the situation for the better!

The APBC team estimates that every second person in the Abkhaz and Ossetian population has a serious health problem. The same can be said for the IDP population. Therefore, the total number of patient beneficiaries will be -255.0 thousand (of which, in Abkhazia -100.0 thousand, in South Ossetia -20.0 thousand, in IDPs from both regions 135.0 thousand people);
The project will solve the health problem of a total of 255.0 thousand people in three years.

The morbidity and economic misery of cancer patients are increasing daily. The number of referrals from patients that they need urgent care is also increasing every day, although our finances do not have this wave of referrals, we want to do more for them. We have also not been able to fund similar levels of medical care and remedies offered by our new partner team of physicians, another new case of innovative medical care in our region that has already cured many people, including children. Older programs were mainly funded by diagnostics, however, in the case of SOLVE, we would like to raise funds to directly fund emergency operations through the latest technologies. We think and hope that your organization will help us in all this, continue to build goodness and peace, with the support of the latest health services.

The innovative ablation and embolization device is the latest technology for our medical technology market. Our team of partner doctors brought him to the West Regional Clinic about 3 months ago and there are still unique results. Patients are treated at the expense of the device, who could receive similar services only in countries with medical hubs and centers. Our partner team of doctors (Paata Meshveliani, Alexander Chogovadze) will already be able to conduct bile duct drainage and stenting, hemolysis of hemorrhages, cure them of hepatocellular carcinoma, cure nodular arterial hemorrhage, almost all Peptic ulcer disease, hemorrhagic gastritis, pancreatitis-related pseudoaneurysm, neoplasm, aortoduodenal fistula, and other trauma.

The APBC team estimates that every second person in the Abkhaz and Ossetian population has a serious health problem. The same can be said for the IDP population. Therefore, the total number of patient beneficiaries will be -255.0 thousand (of which, in Abkhazia -100.0 thousand, in South Ossetia -20.0 thousand, in IDPs from both regions 135.0 thousand people);
The project will solve the health problem of a total of 255.0 thousand people over the next five years.

We measure our success primarily by the number of patients cured, the increase in referrals and the level of their response, the level at which they become sympathetic to the Georgian people, and the changing attitudes between the two ethnic groups. Numerous media campaigns, TV interviews, interviews in magazines and newspapers, and opinions expressed by the cured patients and their relatives and loved ones in Abkhazia show that humanitarian aid has a major impact on the success of mutual respect and reconciliation policies.

The project of the APBC, as a result of the war, will significantly reduce the "icon of the enemy" among the society and the general population of the opposing side, restore trust and lead them to reconciliation. The ground will be prepared for politicians to negotiate and sign a document with the appropriate legal force. That is, the main result of the implementation of our project will be that the reconciliation in the last phase of the project will meet the active part of the population opposed to the war and the public opinion of the parties! How is this result achieved? To achieve such a result, the USSR uses two ways:

- The first. Organization of free, qualified medical care for family members affected by the war in specialized clinics/institutions of one of the opposing parties;
-Second. Encourage and support joint ventures involving representatives of opposing parties. These approaches are experienced between Georgians and Abkhazians, Ossetians and Georgians, and they lead the communities and populations of the opposing sides to reconciliation successfully!

Our technology is an innovative medical device for ablation and embolization that allows us to treat acute diseases of cancer patients, including hepatocellular carcinoma, cure nodular arterial hemorrhage, almost all Peptic ulcer disease, hemorrhagic gastritis, pancreatitis-related pseudoaneurysm, neoplasm, aortoduodenal fistula, and other trauma. Such a device has never been used in western Georgia, and now it is used as a result of the responsibility and qualifications of our partner team of doctors, at the expense of which our project will fund the cure of many acute cancer patients from acute disease or at least prolong life.

90% of the staff of our organization are IDPs from Abkhazia. After 30 years of exile, we still do not feel pain for our indigenous people and their population, where our family and childhood friends still live. This situation means that our team, as a whole country to eliminate injustice, is united to solve the problem of IDPs. We attach great importance to the involvement of women, equality, because we have all suffered at the same level, both morally and financially, and for 30 years now, as a family, we have been working on humanitarian projects with all our energy and attitude. Consequently, the daily relations of the staff of our organization are imbued with mutual respect, principled news, and resilience in the face of the health problems of the IDPs, our brothers, and fair people.

We need funding in only one direction, to fund severe oncology surgeries, after pre-diagnosis. It is important for us to seize the opportunity and create a humanitarian network, in which, in the same way as before, we will first receive IDP cancer patients from the occupied territories of Georgia, who will first be funded for diagnosis, and then we will be able to finance the project Which will extend their life. Our organization will administer the project, carry out financial operations, and then report financially and programmatically to the donor organization's monitoring service.

To confirm our many years of experience in project management and financial sustainability, we offer the following information:

Successfully implemented projects

• Promoting highly qualified humanitarian medical services to Abkhaz and Ossetian patients. At least 500 beneficiaries have used these services per year;
• Making the project applications for Georgian-Abkhazian, Georgian-Ossetian socio-economic direction. For this purpose, were organized and are organizing relevant trade tours, training, and consultations with the participation of Georgians, Abkhazians, and Ossetians;
• Since 2014, Georgian and Abkhazian youth have been participating in activities aimed at developing the activities of the Business Incubator, which facilitates their internships and involvement in small businesses. "Business Incubator", an organization that was established with the support of the APBC, has state-owned buildings and an area with a total area of 0 thousand m2.

Outcomes that achieved in the recent years

• Trust and peace are being increased.
• -Kindness has been increased in a community that is in conflict.
• - The "Enemy Image" has been decreased between Georgians and Abkhazians / Ossetians;
• - The number of volunteers from  civil and business relations has almost doubled in the recent  5 years;
• -An unpleasant rhetoric was reduced between the sides.
• - The number of Abkhazians and Ossetians are willing to move to the Georgian side to get medical treatment and establish business relations is growing every single day.

Please, go through the humanitarian and economic projects, that we have implemented since today:

List of projects implemented by APBC:

1)Title - Establishment and promotion of „Business Incubator”
Beneficiaries – 72, from here, 32 IDP
Donor – Ministry of Economy of Georgia, A.R. Government
Budget - Joint Resource of IAPBC and Business Incubator - GEL 45 700

2)Title - Promoting income generation and employment for IDPs and the population living along the
occupation line (Implemented with the Business Incubator of Abkhazia LEPL)
Beneficiaries – Total 160, from here 44 IDP.
Donor – USAID/NEO
Budget - 537000$ (Budget is for both organizations)
3)Title - Facilitate the development of farms in the conflict zones, the production/promotion of
small quantities of Georgian elite and Caucasian teas.
Beneficiaries – 90
Donor – Caucasus Business and Development Network-International Alert, CBDN
Budget - 29400$
4)Title - Supporting and encouraging Georgian-Abkhazian, Georgian-Ossetian, legal business
partnership and recreation of trust February-July 2010
Beneficiaries – 300

Donor – Eurasia Partnership Foundation (Now European Foundation))
Budget - 24840 $
5)Title - Promote Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-Ossetian business partnership development,
mutual understanding, confidence building, and inter-community integration 15/02/2011-
15/02/2012
Beneficiaries – 450
Donor – Eurasia Partnership Foundation (Now European Foundation)
Budget - 43882$
6)Title - Developing Business Partnership and Recreating Trust between Conflicting Parties;
15/03/2011-30/04/2012
Beneficiaries – 500
Donor – EU/UNDP
Budget - 79980$
7)Title - Reduction of American White Butterfly Harm in Samegrelo and Abkhazia 1/04-2012-
30/09/2012
Beneficiaries – 2000
Donor – EU/UNDP
Budget - 112510$

8)Title - Enhance the Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-Ossetian integration processes by promoting
long-term, coalition, and networking cooperation in the civil sector. 1 / 12-2012-30 / 09/2013
Beneficiaries – 240
Donor – Eurasia Partnership Foundation
Budget - 65200 $
9)Title - Communication, humanity, mutual support, satisfy urgent medical needs in conflict
zones, building trust and peace.; April 2013-April 2014
Beneficiaries – 366

Donor – EU/UNDP
Budget - 123 770 $
10)Title - Georgian and Abkhazian communities - for the protection of the plants, for a clean and
healthy environment May-December 2014
Beneficiaries – 2000
Donor – EU/UNDP
Budget - 68 600 $
11)Title - Helping conflict-affected communities improve health; August 2014 March 2015
Beneficiaries – 226
Donor – EU/UNDP
Budget - 177 000$
12)Title - “Overcome Distrust and Build Peace” August 15, 2016-October 15, 2016
Beneficiaries – 555
Donor – COBERM -EU / UNDP Joint Initiative. It is being implemented with the participation and
contribution of the „Crystal“ Foundation and Center „Abkhazia. “
Budget - 148 667 $
13)Title - “Health, Trust and a Peaceful Future” September 16, 2017, September 16, 2017
Beneficiaries – 600
Donor – COBERM -EU / UNDP Joint Initiative
Budget - 149 890 $
14)Title - “Medical Services Build Confidence and Peaceful Future” November 20, 2019-November
20, 2020
Beneficiaries – 650
Donor – COBERM -EU / UNDP Joint Initiative
Budget - 149 990 $