Photos from the 2008 explosion of an ammunition factory in Gerdec. USAID provided emergency assistance in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. There are currently hundreds of warehouses with unexploded ordinance across Albania.

Civil-Military Relations

OVERVIEW
The Focus Country Initiative was initiated in the fall of 2008 by the former USAID Administrator.   In a “Whole-of-Government” approach to planning and execution, this initiative seeks to better coordinate development, defense, and diplomacy in countries where USAID Missions currently operate. This strategic alignment of various country assistance programs is one way to more efficiently use of U.S. Government resources to meet foreign policy goals.

The U.S.-Albania mission was selected as one of a five regional “focus countries” to enhance the strategic focus and coordinate resources among U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC), and the State Department. 

On March 11th-12th, 2009 the U.S. Mission in Albania hosted a special two-day workshop on U.S. civil-military relations in Tirana with participation from several officials from USAID headquarters in Washington, D.C., the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the United States European Command (EUCOM) headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.

Following the workshop, the U.S. Mission in Albania and the Department of Defense signed a Memorandum of Understanding committing the organizations to continue meeting and coordinating with one another to see these initial proposals through to completion, to assess their impact/success, to generate future joint activities, and to collaborate more closely in the development of future country-level plans.

PROGRAM FOCUS

• Improve Basic Public Health and Health Outcomes in Albania
• Advance Munitions Removal & Disposal Coordination
• Strengthen Disaster Preparedness & Response Coordination

For more information about EUCOM programs in the region, please visit: http://www.eucom.mil/english/Helping_people/default.asp