The national framework is the same wherever you are — the state HIV programme, free testing through community NGOs, and free ART for residents through the AIDS Center system. What changes outside Tbilisi is density: the gay-community organisations and the regional AIDS centres cluster in a handful of cities and thin out beyond them. Here are the major hubs and the rural fallback.
🌆 The Regional Hubs
Georgia's HIV and community infrastructure grew up around a few cities. These are your best regional contact points for testing, PrEP referral, and support.
| City | Regional AIDS Centre | Community Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batumi (Adjara) | ✅ Regional AIDS centre | Tanadgoma community centre | The main hub for the west coast; free HIV testing and referral. |
| Kutaisi (Imereti) | ✅ Regional AIDS centre | Tanadgoma community centre | Central Georgia's hub; clinical HIV services plus community testing. |
| Zugdidi (Samegrelo) | ✅ Regional AIDS centre | Tanadgoma + Equality Movement resource centre | Serves the north-west; both clinical and community routes present. |
| Telavi (Kakheti) | — | Tanadgoma + Equality Movement resource centre | Eastern Georgia community contact point; refers on for clinical care. |
Near one of these cities? The community centre is usually a faster, friendlier way into testing and PrEP referral than a general clinic — they know the local services and work in a gay-affirming way. Phone ahead using the numbers in the access and testing guides, as hours can shift.
💊 PrEP and PEP Outside the Capital
- PrEP enrolment is run through Equality Movement, which is Tbilisi-centred, but its resource centres in Zugdidi and Telavi and the regional AIDS centres provide access points. If you are in a hub city, ask the local Tanadgoma or Equality Movement centre how to enrol and where monitoring happens.
- PEP is time-critical. The four AIDS centres (Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Zugdidi) are your fastest clinical route within the 72-hour window. If you are far from one, do not lose hours — call the AIDS Center's 24-hour line +995 595 395 566 for direction to the nearest option. The PEP guide below has the full plan.
🩸 Testing and Private Labs
Free HIV testing is available through the Tanadgoma community centres in every hub city, and clinical testing through the regional AIDS centres. For the three-site gonorrhoea/chlamydia swabs the free services skip, the private lab Synevo has branches across the larger cities — you can walk in and pay for the STI PCR panel (around 380 GEL). The testing guide below explains the split and how to ask for throat and rectal swabs.
🏥 Rural and Smaller Towns
Away from the hubs, expect thinner coverage:
- Free testing: still reachable — Tanadgoma's self-test kits and outreach extend beyond the centres, and community NGOs can mail or hand out rapid HIV self-tests. HIV self-testing is promoted nationally.
- PEP: finding a dedicated service in a small town is hard. Your fallback is to travel to the nearest regional AIDS centre fast, or call the 24-hour AIDS Center line for direction — the 72-hour clock is what matters.
- HIV care: once you are diagnosed, care is provided free for residents through the AIDS Center network; you may have to travel to Tbilisi or a regional centre, but the specialist system covers the country.
In a smaller town, do not assume a local doctor knows about PrEP, doxyPEP, or gay and bi men's sexual health — and the climate may make an open conversation uncomfortable. Route through the community NGOs or a regional AIDS centre instead, and bring the terms from the vocabulary guide below.