MSF in Georgia has invited me to join a team on a field trip. In Georgia, MSF works on multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and operates in several regions of the country as well as in the (de facto) Republic of Abkhazia.

Arriving at Zugdidi railway station, Georgia

At Tbilisi Central station, we take a night train to Zugdidi, a town located in western Georgia, where MSF operates a regional office. The train is equipped with sleeping compartments and takes us for an eight hour journey. The railway company provides bed sheets and blankets, the latter being useless since it’s insanely hot in the compartment. We arrive in Zugdidi at 6 o’clock. It’s cold and rainy and we jump into a taxi to the MSF office/guesthouse. After breakfast, we continue our journey to Batumi TB Hospital, a two hour drive from Zugdidi.

Front of the MDR-TB building at Batumi TB hospital, Georgia

Batumi is a popular beach resort on the black sea, at the border with Turkey. MSF funds the renovation of the hospital MDR-TB building which has seen better days. While MSF meets with the hospital staff and contractors, I wander around. The aisle of the hospital dedicated to MDR-TB patients is literally falling apart. Both medical staff (two doctors and four nurses) and patients operate in the most inappropriate and unsafe environment.

Rear facade of the MDR-TB building at Batumi TB hospital, Georgia

I can’t help but imagine the feeling of profound abandonment felt by the staff and the patients.

Light and shade in a closed down patient room at Batumi TB hospital, Georgia

Some rooms are so decrepit that it is hard to believe medical practice is happening in the same building. The extreme deterioration offers amazing colors and textures though.

Decrepit room at Batumi TB hospital, Georgia

I spend some time with Doctor Tamaz Sardanashvili. He is a thorax surgeon but he can’t perform surgery on site and has to go to another hospital when necessary.

Dr. Tamaz Sardanashvili examines a chest x-ray at Batumi TB hospital, Georgia

He receives his patients in a small office, one of the few operational rooms in the entire building. He gives me a tour and shows me the former surgery room. He stands there, hands in his pockets, and remains quiet for a while. He allows himself a moment of dejection as he contemplates the crumbling room.

Dr. Tamaz Sardanashvili poses in the closed down surgery room at Batumi TB hospital, Georgia

Like many Georgians, Doctor Tamaz Sardanashvili makes his own wine and invites me for a drink in his office. He hopes the renovation project will succeed but, in any case, he will continue to care for patients. His strength of character and dedication command respect. Doctor Tamaz Sardanashvili, thorax surgeon in Batumi TB Hospital, Georgia, earns 500 GEL (US$200) per month.

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