Albania
We are partnered with Ryder Albania who started work in Tirana in 1993. It was established with support from the Sue Ryder Charity in the UK and still maintains close links with that organisation. Initially Ryder Albania provided free home care services to terminally ill cancer patients and to the elderly suffering from chronic illness in the capital city. Then in 1996 it extended its services and opened a home care service in Durres, the second largest city in Albania. Today, Ryder Albania’s multidisciplinary teams offer home care services in both cities. The teams provide free medical care, psychological counselling and assistance with social service issues to patients and their families.
In addition to Ryder Albania there are two other main NGO providers. The organisations work together and are members of the National Association for Palliative Care which campaigns for the development of palliative care in the country.
In Albania there is almost no funding for palliative care from the state health care system. The only contribution is the reimbursement of the cost of certain drugs. 32.8% of the population lives under the poverty threshold ($5 a day) according to World Bank Statistics.
As of 2017, there were 12 providers offering palliative care in Albania. Geographically, coverage is about one third of the country and in terms of actual access this is less than 6%.
In addition, only 75% of WHO recommended drugs can be prescribed in Albania. Opiods are only available to oncology patients and are not available to children at all. This makes treatment difficult.