The Chair of the Education, Science and Culture Committee, Mariam Jashi and the Deputy Guguli Magradze hosted the Delegation of the University of Virginia represented by: the Head of the International Relations Department, President of the School of Medicine, and the Director of the Business Development Department.

The meeting was attended by the US Millennium Challenge Corporation Georgia Office Director, Magda Magradze.

The visit planned and developed in Georgia by MCC aims at meeting with the Governmental officials and the education field specialists to discuss Georgia-USA partnership opportunities in Georgia in view of development of the healthcare sphere. At the first stage, the Delegation opts to study the healthcare sector and healthcare education in the country.

M. Jashi introduced the situation in healthcare education naming the Universities in Georgia specializing in healthcare and providing Georgian and foreign students with an effective theoretical basis. The Universities mostly host the students from Asia and North Africa. There is a successful English-lingual University in Georgia established 30 years ago and specializing on healthcare.

However, the healthcare system also encounters the challenges. First of all, the students enjoy the opportunity to acquire good theoretical knowledge but fail to access the practical skills in modern medicine due to the lack of the Clinics and deriving from the outdated methods in Georgia and other post-Soviet countries. This is the impediment to be overcome with the leading contribution of close cooperation of Georgia with the leading Western medical institutions and first of all, on the basis of the US experience.

G. Magradze briefed about the socio-political situation underlining significant improvements resulted of the universal healthcare in terms of the financial and geographic accessibility for the population.

However, it entailed the necessity of increased quality of medical services and equality thereof in the Capital and the other cities. It requires increased medical education and the visit served by the Virginia University Delegation will facilitate to it.

The guests expressed their consent about the optimally planned visit allowing them meeting with the high Governmental officials and specialists of the medical education sphere.