On 13 February 2024, HAP organised the Annual Planning Workshop for the third year of the Consolidation Phase (April 2025 – March 2026), bringing together key representatives and partners of the project to define priorities and core activities for the development of primary healthcare in Albania.
The workshop opened with a welcome address by Ms Zhenihen Zanaj from the Swiss Embassy, followed by presentations from Mr Besim Nuri, HAP Project Manager, and Mr Kaspar Wyss, HAP Project Director.
Discussions during the seminar focused on the need for a stronger leadership role for healthcare institutions in expanding HAP interventions; strategies to accelerate the rollout of home care services; increasing funding for primary healthcare services; and possible approaches to ensuring the sustainability of HAP-supported interventions.
Participants were divided into three working groups, each focusing on specific project outputs to assess concrete needs and put forward proposals for activities during the April 2025 – March 2026 period.
The proposals put forward included key points such as the revision of the Basic Package to accommodate home-based healthcare, as well as the introduction of new services, including social workers and psychologists; the involvement of universities in nurse training alongside PHC trainers; the development of instructional videos on standard nursing procedures; the engagement of the Regional Fund in monitoring home-based healthcare; transportation support for nursing teams in the field (bicycles, fuel, vehicles); support for CSOs and media in advocacy interventions and participation in policy dialogues covered by the project; the provision of personal medical equipment for PHC teams to implement clinical guidelines and protocols for NCDs; and capacity-building for PHC teams to enhance elderly care and improve the management of mental health disorders, among other initiatives.
The groups’ proposals will be reviewed for inclusion in the Project’s Annual Activity Plan.
The Annual Planning Workshop is one of the key activities in the project’s implementation, highlighting the importance of setting priorities based on experience and the concrete needs of stakeholders. This approach is essential to ensuring that future strategies and interventions are sustainable, feasible, and have a meaningful impact on improving healthcare services.