Subject: FW: fact checks, Economist Intelligence Unit, please respond by 9.19.17
From: "Sopo Belkania" <[email-masked]>
To: Maia Tabagari ([email-masked]); Nino Mamaladze ([email-masked])
Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2017 12:34:30 +0400

მოგესალმებით,

გთხოვთ იხილოთ მეილი და გადაუგზავნით ფოტოსურათი.

საუკეთესო სურვილებით,

სოფო ბელქანია

ადამიანური რესურსების მართვისა და საერთაშორისო ურთიერთობების დეპარტამენტის უფროსი
საქართველოს შრომის, ჯანმრთელობისა და სოციალური დაცვის სამინისტრო
აკ. წერეთლის გამზირი 144,  თბილისი, საქართველო,  0159
მობ:  +995 599 223232

-----Original Message-----
From: Ana Aslanikashvili [mailto:[email-masked]] 
Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2017 3:55 PM
To: [email-masked]
Cc: MaiaTsereteliYahoo
Subject: FW: fact checks, Economist Intelligence Unit, please respond by 9.19.17

ქალბატონო სოფო,

ქ-ნი მაია წერეთელის დავალებით გიგზავნით მიმოწერას ჟურნალ "ეკონომისტის" წარმომადგენელ ელეინ პოფელდტთან (იხ. ქვემოთ).
ბატონ მინისტრზე სურთ მცირე სტატიის გამოქვეყნება. ონლაინ პროფილის შესაქმნელად ითხოვენ ფოტოსურათს. ნიმუშად გვიგზავნიან ლინკს: http://pathtozero.eiu.com/hcv-change-makers-profiles/

პატივისცემით,
ანა

Ana Aslanikashvili, MD, MPH
National Center for Disease Control and Public Health Department of Communicable Diseases
Mobile: (+995) 555963999
Work: 032 2398946, ext. 116

On Wednesday, September 20, 2017 9:54 AM, Ana Aslanikashvili <[email-masked]> wrote:

Dear Ms. Pofeldt,
 
Thank you for the detailed information.
 
We are delighted to collaborate with you and to become a part of such an interesting project. In this regard I am sending Georgian HCV Country Profile (please see the attached file) which contains updated data on the HCV Elimination Program.
 
Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
 
Best regards,
Ana
 
Ana Aslanikashvili, MD,MPH
National Center for Disease Control and Public Health Department of Communicable Diseases
Mobile: (+995) 555963999
Work: 032 2398946, ext. 116

From:elaine pofeldt [mailto:[email-masked]]
Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2017 4:00 PM
To: Ana Aslanikashvili
Cc: Amiran Gamkrelidze; MaiaTsereteliYahoo
Subject: Re: fact checks, Economist Intelligence Unit, please respond by 9.19.17
 
Hi Ana,
 
Thank you for getting back to me.
 
This is a project of the Economist Intelligence Unit, the research arm of The Economist magazine.
 
In this project, we highlight 18 Change Makers who are having an important impact on HCV elimination. I spoke with the US CDC about Georgia's National Elimination Programme, and it sounds like a great case study to share with our readers.
 
Here is a link to the Path to Zero website, which also includes white papers, videos and other related content. AbbVie is the sponsor but we have editorial independence. 
 
http://pathtozero.eiu.com/
 
I am happy to speak with you by phone, Skype or whatever is convenient for you. I am on EST (New York City area).
 
Best regards,
Elaine
201-805-1666

On Sep 19, 2017, at 3:22 AM, Ana Aslanikashvili <[email-masked]> wrote:
Dear Ms. Pofeldt,
> 
>I am writing on behalf of Dr. Amiran Gamkrelidze.
>Thank you for your interest in Georgian HCV Elimination Program and for your work. We would highly appreciate if you could provide more detailed information about the project you mentioned in your email.
> 
>Best regards,
>Ana
> 
>Ana Aslanikashvili, MD,MPH
>National Center for Disease Control and Public Health Department of 
>Communicable Diseases
>Mobile: (+995) 555963999
>Work: 032 2398946, ext. 116
> 
> 
> 
> 
>-------- Original message --------
>From: Elaine Pofeldt <[email-masked]>
>Date: 16/09/2017 07:14 (GMT+04:00)
>To: "Davit Sergeenko ([email-masked])" <[email-masked]>, 
>Amiran Gamkrelidze <[email-masked]>
>Subject: fact checks, Economist Intelligence Unit, please respond by
>9.19.17
> 
>Hello, Drs. Sergeenko and Gamkrelidze,
>
>
>Congratulations on being selected as Change Makers in the Path to Zero 
>programme, run by the Economist Intelligence Unit, for 2017. I am a 
>researcher for the EIU.
>
>Here are the fact checks for the profile on you that we are running at 
>the EIU. My editor said the project may launch as soon as Thursday, 
>9.21. Could you please let me know by the morning of Tuesday, 9.19, if 
>any information below is not correct? Please highlight any changes or 
>put them in caps, so I don't miss any.
>
>Just fyi, the word counts are very brief, so everyone's story is 
>greatly condensed.
>
>1. Your ID:
>
>Davit Sergeenko, MD, Minister of Health for Georgia
>
>Amiran Gamkrelidze, MD, Director general of Georgia’s National Centre 
>for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC)
>
>2. We noted for context that the country of Georgia, an estimated 5.4% 
>of the adult population had chronic Hepatitis C (HCV) infection in 
>2015. Despite the high prevalence, nearly two-thirds of those infected 
>are unaware of their status, according to the Georgia Ministry of 
>Labour, Health and Social Affairs.
>
>3. Georgia is seeking to achieve a 90% reduction in Hepatitis C 
>prevalence by 2020 via its national HCV Elimination Programme. Under 
>both of your leadership, Georgia collaborated with the US Centers for 
>Disease Control on a large-scale screening and treatment programme.
>
>4. From January of 2015 to December of 2016, the national programme 
>conducted 472,890 HCV screening tests. The large-scale screening 
>campaign began first at four clinics in the capital Tbilisi and later 
>expanded to 17 additional treatment centers around the country. Of 
>those tested, 10.8% were positive for the HCV antibody. Ultimately,
>40,000 people initiated treatment, and nearly 32,000 completed 
>treatment successfully.
>
>5. While the programme was a significant success for the country’s 
>efforts to achieve elimination, more work is ahead. During the last 
>three months of 2016, the number of persons entering the treatment 
>programme declined steadily, as the programme transitioned from working 
>primarily with people with known HCV cases to reaching out to new 
>patients. In response, the country is ramping up screening and linkage 
>to care and treatment services; in addition, Georgia is expanding 
>outreach to and provision of services for at-risk populations, 
>including people who inject drugs.
>
>6. “A key lesson from this experience is that availability of curative 
>treatment alone is not enough to achieve HCV elimination; instead, a 
>comprehensive approach to elimination must be taken, to include 
>screening and linkage to care and treatment policies and programmes, 
>high-quality diagnostics, surveillance, provision of services to 
>high-risk and marginalised populations, and measures to prevent 
>transmission,” you and your fellow researchers wrote in a 2017 research 
>publication. “Although formidable challenges exist, lessons from this 
>model elimination programme can inform similar initiatives in other 
>countries, regardless of income level.”
>
>Thank you,
>Elaine Pofeldt
>
>--
>Elaine Pofeldt
>
>Elaine Pofeldt, LLC
>[email-masked]
>201-805-1666
>http://elainepofeldt.com/
>@ElainePofeldt
>www.linkedin.com/in/ElainePofeldt