US announces grant programme to help Georgia cope with coronavirus challenges

The US government has announced a rapid response grant programme for Georgian civil society organisations, civic movements and citizen groups to help the country respond to challenges caused by COVID-19 virus in a timely manner. 

• Georgia reports 4 new cases of coronavirus, with total number of infected people at 37

The grant programme titled Act Now will be carried out by USAID Georgia. 

Grants will range between $500-$5,000. 

• What are the measures being taken by the government to contain the virus?

The duration of the projects should be two weeks minimum and two months maximum. 

Since February 26 Georgia has had 38 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.

The US Embassy to Georgia says that these grants are designed to rapidly deploy flexible resources to organizations and civic activists to take civic action and:

• Minimize the threat/spread of COVID-19 in Georgia;
• Provide critical support to disproportionately impacted and/or at-risk communities;
• Facilitate inter-sectoral cooperation to help strengthen/scale up national response efforts and/or;
• Address other significant aspects of the COVID-19 crisis as efficiently as possible.

The embassy says that Act Now / Rapid Response Grants can be requested at any time and applicants must demonstrate that the proposed intervention is critical and that it must happen quickly to be effective. 

Considering the urgency of the issue, EWMI ACCESS will process the grant applications within three to seven days.

Read more here.