Health centers in the municipalities of Finiq and Dropulli receive equipment and medical supplies to better cope with the treatment of Covid-19.
Through a collaboration between the embassies of Switzerland and Greece, medical equipment and supplies were delivered to the health center of Aliko, in the municipality of Finic. Nurses and doctors were also trained to use the equipment.
The health center in Aliko provides primary care to visiting patients but also through mobile consultations to about 5,000 residents living in the municipalities of Finiq and Dropull. The equipment will help doctors and nurses better cope with Covid-19 and provide better health services, especially for the high number of elderly people living in rural areas. These two municipalities have a high rate of young people emigrating to Greece.
“We sincerely thank the Swiss Embassy for the generous donation to the Aliko Health Center of the Municipality of Finiq, Saranda. The aid sent was distributed in several villages and the municipality’s ambulance was also equipped, making it possible to quickly cover a much wider area,” said Bruna Çela, general practitioner at the health center.
The equipment and supplies are worth over 8,000 Euros and were procured by ‘Health for All’ – a project from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC. They include 4 portable oxygen machines that provide oxygen supply at home for severe cases of Covid-19 as well as for other diseases. Also, doctors and nurses received personal protective equipment, physical examination machines and oximeters.
“We have oxygen machines that produce 10 liters of oxygen. We have many villages and not all of them can go to the Saranda hospital, and therefore we can now serve the citizens in their homes”, said Eleni Papa, Coordinator for the municipalities of Finiq and Dropull.
After a basic training on the use of the equipment, the team of the project ‘Health for All’ discussed with the health center about a future program to strengthen the capacities of doctors and nurses for the improvement of primary care services.
Switzerland has provided quick and responsive support to Albania to cope with Covid-19 and is currently the main international partner in the field of primary health care in the country.