This WHO/Europe hybrid event will bring together national authorities, international partners and leading experts from multiple sectors to accelerate Georgia’s progress toward eliminating industrially produced trans-fatty acids (TFAs) from the food supply.
Industrially produced trans fats are an unnecessary and potentially harmful chemical often found in baked goods and deep-fried foods and are associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths globally each year. Eliminating trans fats from food systems is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to reduce premature deaths from NCDs.
Trans fat elimination: building momentum in Georgia
The WHO European Region has made significant progress in reducing trans fats, but gaps remain – and Georgia is committed to closing them.
Organized by the WHO Country Office in Georgia, the Division of Prevention and Health Promotion at WHO/Europe and the Ministry of Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs (MoH) of Georgia, this policy dialogue aims to strengthen the country’s national TFA policy architecture.
The event will include simultaneous interpretation in Georgian and English.
The main objectives of the policy dialogue include:
- sharing global and regional evidence on the health burden of TFAs and best-practice policy solutions;
- reviewing Georgia’s national progress, guided by existing legislation and implementation measures;
- discussing challenges, gaps and opportunities for strengthening TFA-free policies, including steps toward WHO validation; and
- enhancing multisectoral cooperation between government institutions, food regulators, academia and international partners across the Region.
Participants will include representatives from WHO/Europe, the MoH of Georgia, the Georgian Parliament’s Committee of Healthcare and Social Issues, the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC), the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, Food Agency, Ministry of Education, Science and Youth, Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency, Food and Agriculture Organization, NCD Alliance, medical associations and academic institutions.
Side event: Implementing policies to reduce obesity in Georgia
As part of the broader policy dialogue in Georgia, WHO/Europe, the MoH and NCDC will convene a focused side event titled “Implementing policies to reduce obesity in Georgia”.
NCDs remain the country’s leading cause of death, with obesity acting as a major driver of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Building on the November 2024 policy dialogue and new findings from WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) Round 6, this session focuses on identifying priorities and finding ways to put them into action.
Participants will:
- review the latest evidence;
- agree on 2–3 high-impact ministry-led interventions for 2026; and
- outline the technical support and capacity-building needed from WHO to ensure successful implementation.