Georgian Member of Parliament Continues Health-Care Reform Program

Levan Metreveli (Muskie ’05), a Georgian Member of Parliament, completed his Master’s of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Having now returned to his home country, he continues to serve as a parliamentarian and is actively engaged in the development of a health-financing model with the Ministry of Health.

During his studies in the United States, Mr. Metreveli developed a policy paper entitled “EU Enlargement and Health Systems: Experiences and Practices from New EU-Member Countries and Implications for Georgia.” His goal was to create an actual health reform action plan for Georgia to follow in its effort to improve the Georgian healthcare system.

Upon his return to Georgia, Mr. Metreveli began working with state agencies and the international community on reforming the healthcare system. The Ministry of Labor, Health Care and Social Welfare of Georgia (MOH) is working with the Health Committee of the Parliament to administer this program. In addition, various ministries such as the Ministry of Economics, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Agriculture have lent support to the program. Furthermore, the Health Committee of Parliament is synchronizing Georgian legislation with EU standards and regulations. The program will be completed in mid-2009.

The healthcare policy will target the following objectives: improving intra-governmental cooperation, strengthening the human and technical capacity of the MOH, enhancing cooperation with old and new EU-member countries, developing a favorable legal environment for health reform with an emphasis on EU-style legislation, and designing an effective media strategy for health reform.

Mr. Metreveli believes that, “My Muskie Fellowship at Emory has been absolutely essential to me. My view of public health has radically changed. I believe that my knowledge and experience gained through the Muskie Fellowship can easily be applied at different levels both nationally and internationally.