Photo Credit: USAID/Albania

Investing in People

Current Situation
According to a World Health organization assessment conducted in 2005, Albania’s population and disease profile is changing and Albania’s health care system is ill prepared to face the growing incidence of non-communicable diseases and other health risks. The system—beset by a lack of standards in the provision of medical equipment and services, is beginning to upgrade the skills of doctors, nurses, and midwives through continuing medical education, and to expand a systematic collection of health data for planning and decision making. Inadequate recurrent expenditures, inefficient drug therapies and limited medical skills result in low quality of care and inefficient use of resources. Corruption and low levels of public and private investment in the sector also weaken reforms and damage the public trust.

USAID seeks to help reform the primary health care system for it to respond to the public health needs in Albania. The program aims to improve the management of the limited available resources, develop a set of quality services offered and delivered at the primary care level, and increase the use of health facilities in rural and urban areas. Within the program on primary health care, USAID/Albania implements program activities targeted for family planning and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, and mother and child health policies and programs.

Program Focus

• Strengthening the Government of Albania’s health reform efforts to create a fully integrated primary health care system to respond to the basic health needs of the population. Services target reproductive health, family planning, HIV/AIDS/STIs and tuberculosis;
• Facilitating health care delivery by improving clinical competency, management, planning and budgeting skills for both central and local health authorities;
• Promoting awareness, advocacy and participation in the primary health care at the community level.

Key Accomplishments

• Improvements in service delivery in an increasing number of health facilities—as the program grows nation-wide—through provider training, facility management, clinical practice guidelines, and community involvement;
• The national roll out of a health information system based on patient encounter data that facilitates Primary Health Care management;
• Establishment of continuing medical education boards in five regions to monitor the quality of services delivered at health care centers, a first step towards the accreditation of health facilities nationwide;
• Family planning services are provided nationwide down to the commune level throughout Albania with a two-fold increase in demand for family planning services over the past year;
• A USAID-funded Contraceptive Logistics Management Information System was adopted by the Government of Albania—ensuring the necessary information to allow for a continuous supply of modern contraceptives and reducing stock-outs;
• USAID assisted the National Contraceptive Security Commission to develop the first National Contraceptive Security Strategy, signed by the MOH in 2003.