At a meeting of the Healthcare and Social Issues Committee, the Committee Chair, Zaza Lominadze, spoke about the demographic challenges facing the country. According to him, a working group will be established to study the issue and develop relevant recommendations.

"As in many countries around the world, demographic policy is a challenge in our country, and the population is declining. One of the main priorities of the authorities is demographic policy; however, in recent years, following the COVID-19 pandemic, the country has experienced a negative demographic balance. Therefore, we have decided to establish a working group within the Committee that will develop recommendations aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of families with children. These recommendations will be submitted to the Government of Georgia", - said Zaza Lominadze.

According to him, the working group will include, alongside Members of Parliament, representatives of the Administration of the Government of Georgia, the Ministries of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs; Education, Science and Youth; Finance; Economy and Sustainable Development; Regional Development; and Justice, as well as representatives of the Patriarchate, the United Nations Population Fund, and the National Statistics Office of Georgia.

The Government of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, the Mayor`s Offices of Tbilisi and Batumi, and sector experts will participate in the work of the group with the status of temporary members.

At the meeting, the Chair of the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee, Rati Ionatamishvili, presented a draft law on amendments to the Law “On the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The draft law, initiated by Majority MPs, aims to ensure the accessibility of mobile applications for persons with disabilities. According to the reporter, the draft law was prepared through active consultations with stakeholders and will provide persons with disabilities with enhanced access to information and communications. Under the draft law, the Government of Georgia will approve a relevant technical regulation specifying accessibility requirements for mobile applications. The Committee approved the documents.