Gia Lobzhanidze’s greeting

Remarks of Prof. Gia Lobzhanidze to the WMA General Assembly
Tbilisi, 25 October 2019
Mr. Deputy Chairman of Parliament, Mr. President of the World Medical Association, Mr. Chairperson of
Council, Mr. Secretary General, dear members of Presidium, dear colleagues, dear guests,
It is a great honor to greet you in the name of Directors’ Board and members of the Georgian Medical
Association, we are happy to host the WMA General Assembly.
I would like to remind you that the GMA became the member of WMA in 2002, in Washington and this
was a very important step for us. I want to thank again the American Medical Association for their help
and support. After joining WMA, we maximally try to take part in every GA.
The Georgian Medical Association is the first non-governmental professional organization that was
registered in Georgia on the 5th
of May, 1989. We turned 30 years old this year.
My friends and I are proud that we have completed a lot of important projects. We are cooperating with
the government and have worked on the changes to improve safety of patients, autonomy of doctors and
in general to improve the legal and social conditions of doctors.
We were the first organization in our region that started a project about healthy life. We organized a lot
of conferences, supported teaching of ethics at the under and postgraduate education level, and
implementation in everyday clinical and scientific work.
Georgia is not only the oldest county in the world, but also it is the homeland of Medea, whose name is
the base of the word “Medicine”.
Medicine was developed in old Georgia, – “hospitals” were established with monasteries and people were
able to get the first aid there. Georgia has a lot of the oldest handwritten medical books.
Last year, the Tbilisi State University and traditional medical education in Georgia turned 100 years old.
The Tbilisi State University is the leader university in our region and I am sure its potential will grow in the
future.
Last year, important changes were made to the Georgian healthcare system, the safety of patients and
the autonomy of doctors have improved, but lots of more things need to be improved.
I wish all of you a productive GA meeting and I want to advise you to find time and visit the different
beautiful regions of Georgia.
I wish you success in your professional and personal life.
Thank you for your attention!