Healthcare in Albania

Albania has been making some progress over the years in health care reform, through its National Health Strategy, introduced in 2011, updated in 2013 and later on; there are significant steps to increase the use of primary care services and promote quality care, reducing health inequalities and improving the health of its citizens.

Since the fall of Communism there are considerable efforts to improve access to medical care and improve public health practices. Health care in Albania is a universal health care system, but is based on the social insurance model. Since 2008, the Republic of Albania has undergone a healthcare reform which aims to increase levels of health coverage and address equity issues within the country however Albania is notorious for corruption and mismanagement of health care system. However, a new report from the World Bank finds that Albania has made significant strides in improving its health care even as it battles corruption’s corrosive effects in other areas of public life, the public and private sectors are striving to improve their efficiency and quality of service. 

As the country's healthcare system grew from a traditional model to one that includes preventive health programs and active participation of citizens, some later improvements can be seen. In Albania, the costs public health system are covered by the Albanian Health Insurance Institute which provides primary health care, outpatient services and dental care - funded at a rate of 3.4% of gross salaries. The staff consists of local residents prepared in country's medical schools. Albania has a low-cost hospital system made up of general practitioners and dentists practising locally in private practices.

Albania's public health system is in need of substantial modernisation. Ongoing economic and political instability have been accompanied by significant challenges to overall healthcare access, quality, and ultimately well-being. To date, Albania has made impressive progress in reaching its Millennium Development Goals for maternal mortality and reducing vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, still Albania lacks full resources and capacity to provide quality healthcare to the vast majority of the population at every corner of the country, especially in rural areas. 

Some primary care providers – nurses, midwives and community health promoters – were trained by experts from the World Health Organization (WHO).With a GNI per capita of just $2,800 in 2013 and up to 5,210.00 as of 2020 [latest value for GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$)] health-care budget for past 10 years has been fluctuating at $200-$275 per person, add to that low-amount all the PPIs, mismanagement, corruption and badly allocated government contracts in hands of few private individuals; the immense damage to public funds and the future of Public Health Care as a whole, are evident for the patients and population.

There are many challenges in Albania as it seeks to improve its healthcare system. Some of the most important are overcoming the lack of training and experience of many health professionals, nepotism and corruption, politically based posts and job-allocations, lack of proper management and efficiency. This situation has led to problems with doctors and nurses who are not always properly qualified and could jeopardise the health of Albanians, especially the vulnerable categories and poor patients, also it has jeopardised careers of talented and hard-working students/ professionals, many of which are looking for posts abroad.