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Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies
Decision-making for poverty-related issues is undertaken by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Institute of Labour and Social Affairs, and Local Governments.
Decision Making: Legislation and Regulations
No information is available.
Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans
Policy is aimed at rebuilding the rural
economy on a free-market basis from the bottom up, with a focus on actively alleviating
rural poverty, restoring food security, promoting the small-scale private sector,
repairing basic rural infrastructure, strengthening local governments, and rooting rural
development policies in local tradition and culture.
Decision-Making: Major Groups involvement
The Albanian Development Fund and NGOs are also participants.
Programmes and Projects
Among the activities aimed at the poor and linkages to the environment are the following:
The Urban Credit Programme, which targets unemployed persons or persons receiving economic assistance and who do not have access to banks;
Establishment and start-up of the Rural Development Fund (RDF), by Government Decision in January 1993, as an autonomous, transition institution responsible for implementation of the pilot and full-scale projects, under the general direction of a Board of Trustees chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister.
Reconstitution of the Rural Development Fund, in September 1994, into the Albanian Development Fund (ADF), in order to allow expansion of activities to urban areas under the IDA-financed Urban Works and Micro-enterprise Pilot project.
Status
Approximately 65% of the population lives
in the rural areas. The infrastructure in these areas is a primary target of the national
strategy given that roads, irrigation and infrastructure for agricultural marketing, water
and sewerage systems, and electricity supplies are still far from being developed.
Although environmental degradation is not as extensive as in other countries, environment
problems exacerbate poverty in many rural areas and have significant health implications
in urban areas. Soil erosion, deforestation, and pollution from fertilizers and pesticide
runoff are notable throughout large portions of the countryside and are economically
significant since approximately 75% of the country's land resources is devoted to two
sectors, agriculture and forestry, which together account for 50% of GDP (1995).
While the government has established a
basic social safety net of cash benefits and food subsidies targeted at the poorer groups
in the rural areas, it has to be emphasized that an element of the resource transfers to
these areas should be directed at stimulating the local economy in order to prevent the
build-up of long-term dependence on social assistance. Rural Infrastructure Works, which
have sought to improve the availability of small contractors to work in Albanias rural
areas, especially in the mountainous areas; to date, this has successfully resulted, on
average, in higher quality rehabilitation.
Challenges
No information is available.
Capacity-building, Education, Training
and Awareness-raising
No information is available.
Information
No information is available.
Research and Technologies
No information is available.
Financing
Small-scale Credit, which provides a highly effective small-scale credit delivery mechanism for villages. As of 31 December 1995, a total of 100 village credit funds were created in 9 districts, and 5143 sub-loans were disbursed to 4750 families.
Funding support is provided by the State Budget, by PHARE (rural poverty alleviation and support to development of local community in rural and urban areas); IDA (rural infrastructure), and by the Governments of France and Italy.
Cooperation
See under Financing.
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This information was provided by the Government of Albania to the fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last update: 1 April 1997.
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Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies
No specific decision-making structure exists to tackle this issue. Different institutions deal with the topic according to their mandates. Among those institutions are included: the Ministry of Health and Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, and the Albanian Institute of Statistics
Decision Making: Legislation and Regulations
No information is available.
Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans
No information is available.
Decision-Making: Major Groups involvement
Non-governmental organizations dealing with family planning, as well as womens' organizations and youth organizations are also active in this area.
Programmes and Projects
No information is available.
Status
Despite the lack of an official policy and
strategy regarding the population development, the state propaganda has always supported a
sort of ideological pronatalist attitude . This has rendered almost impossible the
implementation of programs and policies related to family planning.
Emigration abroad was forbidden, and the
population movement from the rural to the urban regions was under state control and very
much restricted.
Following the postwar period up to 1990, the population of Albania has increased at a rate of more than 2% annually. The increase has been incompatible with both the natural resources and the economic development of the country. Based on the data from the general population census in 1989, Albania was populated by 3,182,416 people, whereas in 1995 the registered number was 3,248,836 people. Albania is the only European country with a positive population growth rate. The actual growth rate for the time period 1990-1995 has been estimated around 0.8%. At the same time, the population of Albania is relatively young. Almost one-third of the population is under 14 years of age. The average life expectancy of the population is 71.4 years. Half of the female population of the country is at reproduction age (15-49 years), and few than 10% use contraceptives. On the average, an Albanian woman gives birth to 2.7 children. The number has constantly decreased from 6 in 1960, to 3 in 1990, and to 2.7 in 1995. However Albania still holds the record of births per woman throughout Europe. The number of abortions in the country is also very high, and many mothers lose their lives following complications from the abortions or during birth. Motherhood mortality continues to be the highest throughout Europe: 37 out of 100,000 of pregnant women die at birth. Infant mortality proceeds at an alarming rate: 23 babies out of 1000 die before reaching the first year of life, and 35 out of 1000 die before the fifth year of age
Migration constitutes another crucial point for Albania. Before 1990, the Government allowed no emigration and only a very reduced migration within the country. For instance, the number of people living in the cities during a 30 years period (1960-1989) increased by only 5% (from 30-35%). Migration abroad became a reality only in 1990 following the reduction of the control on the population's movement. A large scale emigration started, particularly to the neighbouring countries of Greece and Italy. It has been estimated that, in 1992, almost 200,000 people left the country, although many of these people are thought to have returned after short periods. Emigration has mainly affected the southern regions of Albania. Actually no accurate data regarding migration are available, but the massive "exodus" from the rural areas is virtually a certainty. Migration is particularly high in the mountainous northern regions of the country, where the pressure on arable land is particularly high. People from these areas reach mainly the coastal regions and overpopulate the big cities like Tirana..
Challenges
See under Status.
Capacity-building, Education, Training
and Awareness-raising
No information is available.
Information
No information is available.
Research and Technologies
No information is available.
Financing
No information is available.
Cooperation
No information is available.
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This information was provided by the Government of Albania to the fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last update: 1 April 1997.
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Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies
The Ministry of Environment and Health is responsible for decision-making in this area. Through the Directorate of the Primary Health Care and a Network of Local Primary Health Care Departments distributed in 37 districts of Albania, the Ministry supervises the implementation of the human health policy. The Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the Ministry of Defence also have authority over certain aspects of the health programme. A network of hospitals and clinics distributed all over the country holds responsibilities for the treatment of infectious and non infectious diseases.
Decision Making: Legislation and Regulations
No information is available.
Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans
The Policy of Human Health protection in
Albania has been based on the prevention of the outbreaks of infectious diseases through
general and specific prophylactic measures as well as on educational programs for the
prevention of the so-called "civilization" health problems, through, for
example, campaigns against smoking, alcohol, and narcotics, and information about AIDS and
family programming.
Specific objectives of the primary
curative service include the following:
(1) To increase the
coverage of curative services from 95% to 100% by the year 2005 for urban areas and from
70% to 90% in the year 2005 for rural areas; and
(2) To improve the quality
of curative services through the use of standardized protocols for diagnosis and
treatment. The standardized protocols will be correctly used for 95% of the patients by
the year 2005.
Specific objectives related to the health
status of the population are the following:
(1) To contribute to the
reduction of the incidence of disease in children ( i.e. reduce the infant mortality rate
to under 25 per 1000 live births in the year 2000; infant mortality in the year 1995 was
30 per 1000);
(2) To contribute to the
reduction of the maternal mortality ratio to 25 per 100,000 live births by the year 2000
(the maternal mortality ratio was 28.5 per 100,000 live births in the year 1995);
(3) To contribute to the
reduction of the prevalence of malnutrition to less than 10% for children under five years
of age.
Decision-Making: Major Groups involvement
No information available.
Programmes and Projects
Special programs organized by WHO are dealing with the effects of smoking and alcohol and the ways of preventing and controlling them. A special program is being implemented on family planning.
Status
During the transition period the Health
Care System inherited considerable deficiencies from the former system and initially
relied almost completely on medical supplies from humanitarian aid. To increase the
efficiency of health care treatment centres, the Government allowed the creation of the
private health care system, parallel to the existing state-owned one. In some areas, such
as dental care and the network of drug stores and pharmacies, private services thoroughly
dominated the existing state structures. The health insurance system underwent a complete
restructuring through the creation of the Institute of Public Health Insurance. Insurance
for basic health problems is mandatory. A centralized state policy is followed regarding
the prevention and control of the outbreaks of transmissible diseases. In the last three
years the Public Health Service in Albania was faced with cholera outbreaks and the
epidemic of poliomyelitis.
The respective campaigns for the control and the eradication of these infections were organized by the Ministry of Health and Environment Protection through the Institute of Public Health and the technical assistance of the World Health Organization. The opening of the country was associated with the free movement of people, and Albania began for the first time to experience the onset of AIDS in its population. According to the official data the number of AIDS-infected people is about 30. Serological AIDS diagnostic tests are regularly performed at the Institute of Public Health and at the Blood Collection and Preservation Centre. The test is confidential and free of charge. There is a reported increase in the use of narcotics, especially from the younger generation. This has led to the creation of a narcotics treatment and rehabilitation unit.
Challenges
No information is available.
Capacity-building, Education, Training
and Awareness-raising
No information is available.
Information
No information is available.
Research and Technologies
No information is available.
Financing
No information is available.
Cooperation
No information is available.
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This information was provided by the Government of Albania to the fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last update: 1 April 1997.
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Database (WHO): Europe and CIS countries, click here:
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statistical information from the World Health Organization.
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Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies
The Ministry of Education is responsible for policy development, sector programme planning and management capacities in this area, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection supports job training and the development of small enterprises.
Decision Making: Legislation and Regulations
No information is available.
Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans
The policies and strategies for education
aim at: (1) improving the facilities for delivering education through a programme of
rehabilitation, reconstruction, and re-equipping facilities; (2) updating the education
curriculum at all levels; (3) developing skilled teaching staff; (4) establishing an
effective system of education management to ensure quality assessment and control; and (5)
ensuring a more efficient utilization of facilities and staff and reduce the demands on
the state budget.
Because of their social benefits, services in these sectors are generally unsuited for privatization. The government policies emphasize the "protection" of services and the implementation of reform measures aimed at making services more efficient and better targeted. The Ministry of Education's objectives for the sector are to ensure the provision of a basic education for all Albanians and to meet the professional and technical skills required in a market economy.
Decision-Making: Major Groups involvement
Among the Major Groups involved are the Pedagogical Institute, which is developing its role in instigating and advising the Government on key issues in the sector such as school governance, curriculum development, and quality assurance. The Institute of Labour and Social Affairs is engaged in studying the relationships between labour market and vocational and technical training. And some NGOs, notably SOROS Foundation For Open Society and different Italian NGOs, such as Don Bosco, among others, are providing financial support for the realization of education research projects at different levels.
Programmes and Projects
No information is available.
Status
In general, indicators of quality and
access within the education sector have deteriorated during the early 1990s as the result
of the poor conditions of education (including inadequate facilities, poorly motivated
staff due to poor salaries and working conditions, outdated curricula, untrained teachers,
shortages of equipment and books). This has been the result of critically inadequate
funding for the education sector, which averaged only 9% of the total budget. In 1996, the
percentage had grown to 11%.
Education is being reoriented also to integrate information on the environment into the curricula and to improve the quality of all levels of education in order to ensure that an educated adult population and work force is being prepared: to rehabilitate and rationalize existing education facilities to suit the changing demographic structure; and to support the restructuring of secondary education, emphasizing a general education and a more broadly based vocational education system.
Challenges
No information is available.
Capacity-building, Education, Training
and Awareness-raising
No information is available.
Information
No information is available.
Research and Technologies
No information is available.
Financing
A separate fund, entitled the Training, Employment, and Enterprise Fund (TEEF), administered by a unit within the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, has been set up to fund organizations which provide job training and support the development of small enterprises.
Cooperation
A range of different international and bilateral donors are active in this field. At present, foreign donors are providing significant amounts to help improve both the physical infrastructure and the know-how of the education and training system. The most important donors in this area are UNICEF, UNESCO, the World Bank, EU/PHARE, and SOROS, in addition to Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States.
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This information was provided by the Government of Albania to the fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last update: 1 April 1997.
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Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies
The Ministry of Public Works, Territory Adjustment and Tourism is responsible for decision-making in this area.
Decision Making: Legislation and Regulations
No information is available.
Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans
No information is available.
Decision-Making: Major Groups involvement
No information is available.
Programmes and Projects
No information is available.
Status
Marked differences already exist in human
settlements all over the country. On a horizontal approach, which considers settlements
from the administrative point of view, it is estimated that one-quarter of the population
as a whole has been settled in the coastal regions, which constitute only one-tenth of the
surface of the country, while another one-fifth of the population is sprawled across more
than one-third of the territory.
For the urban population the horizontal
differentiation of the settlements is more striking. Thus, within the coastal regions,
one-third of the population is urban, but only ten percent of the sparsely populated
one-third of the country is urbanized.
The population settlements distribution amongst geographic zones reflects major differences. The Albanian Alps, which constitute more than 7% of the entire territory, offer living spaces only for 2% of the population, whereas Myzeqeja, which constitutes 5% of the entire territory of the country contains almost 12% of the population. As a whole the western flatland side of the country, which constitutes 21% of the territory, holds 53% of the entire population of Albania. On the other hand the central mountainous region of the country which constitutes 48% of the entire territory holds almost 26% of the population as a whole.
From a vertical point of view, it has been
estimated that 27.6% of the population lives in the administrative units situated at an
altitude of 300 m above sea level; 52%, in areas at 301 to 1000 meters above sea level;
and 20.4% in the areas above 1000 meters. The majority of the Albanian population (more
than 2/3) has been settled in the Western flatland side of the country, the field of Korca
and Delvina and along the river's valleys. Most of the remaining one-third of the
population has settled along the hilly zones and the river's valleys at the Western
flatland side, while the mountainous zones hold only 2% of the population.
Albania is a country of a high density
population. Tirana, its capital, is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe
(5,000 inhabitants/km2 ) with a high land use intensity. Built up areas represent over 70%
of the total municipal area with one of the lowest ratios of green space per inhabitant.
Housing space per capita is the lowest in Europe (7,5 m2). In 1989, 43.4% of flats had
only one-room and 35.9% had two rooms. Illegal constructions due to migration from the
North-Eastern parts of the country became very common in the years of transition to the
market economy. They are typical for the big cities, especially Tirana.
Challenges
Although electrification of the whole country has been completed since 1970, power shortages are very frequent. Energy and heating supplies have become an acute problem. The drinking water infrastructure is old and insufficient to cover the needs. Most of the population uses drinking water from the tap. Telephones are still missing in most of the Albanian families, though efforts are underway with the support of the European Union and IFIs to build new telephone infrastructure, especially in the big cities. Road infrastructure is still very poor, old and not well maintained. The railway system, though old, is still functioning. The only international airport is located in Tirana.
Capacity-building, Education, Training
and Awareness-raising
No information is available.
Information
No information is available.
Research and Technologies
No information is available.
Financing
No information is available.
Cooperation
Albania engages in bilateral cooperation with Turkey, Malaysia, and Israel for housing issues. The PHARE Programme has covered some of the feasibility studies and detailed design in the field of drinking and waste water as well as solid domestic waste.
* * *
This information was provided by the Government of Albania to the fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Last update: 1 April 1997.
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