The Response of the Albanian Social Protection System to the Needs of Citizens during the Pandemic

In Albania, during the pandemic, access to social services has been a challenge for the most vulnerable communities, with limited capacities of existing social services and absent specialized services in rural areas. In this context, this study was undertaken, based on the necessity to assess the effectiveness of the response of the social protection system to the citizens ‘needs during the pandemic, in four municipalities, Kukës, Lezhë, Kamëz, and Durrës. The methodology of the study was qualitative. 81 participants were involved in the assessment. Primary data were collected through 31 semi-structured interviews with representatives of municipality staff, employment office, prefecture, regional social services, regional education directorate, health service, and police service; and seven focus group discussions with representatives of public and non-public community centers, and school personnel. Main findings show that though several measures were taken to respond to the needs of citizens, there was limited access to services, especially for families living in remote areas, those with limited access to the internet, victims of domestic violence and child abuse, Roman and Egyptian. The quality of services offered was perceived as lower than before the pandemic. Services were partly relevant to the needs of citizens, because of late and limited measures concerning employment, lack of access to online services for victims of child abuse and domestic violence, limited access to online education, and unaddressed needs of service providers and parents. Overall there was inadequate financial support for families. Several lessons were learned, such as developing further interinstitutional cooperation and good cooperation with NGOs, and developing intersectional approaches to address poverty and vulnerability, to ensure continuity of services. The main best practices in this regard were full mapping of families in need and municipality services offered in cooperation with NGOs, such as home assistance, direct assistance, etc

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Pandemic · Political science · Social protection · Employment and Welfare Studies · Healthcare Systems and Reforms · Law · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Internal Medicine