Over the past week, the Health for All Project (HAP) hosted two expert visits aimed at getting more closely acquainted with and assessing the progress of the project, as well as discussing the upcoming activities and interventions of the consolidation phase.
On 22–23 September, Mr Alexander Schulze, Director of Services at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (SwissTPH), conducted a two-day visit which included a meeting with the project’s management and experts to review ongoing activities, challenges, and priorities of HAP’s consolidation phase.
Mr Schulze also visited the Sauk Health Centre in Tirana, where he met with the managerial team to learn firsthand about the outcomes of HAP support. The Sauk HC has been a long-term partner of the project, benefiting from a wide range of interventions:
- training on non-communicable diseases, elderly care, mental health, and home healthcare;
- provision of doctor and nurse medical bags and equipment for community-based services;
- reconstruction of the health centre facilities.
During the visit, attendants shared their experiences on how HAP interventions have influenced daily practice, improved patient care, and addressed community needs. The discussions also highlighted remaining challenges in sustaining and expanding these improvements.
Later in the week, on 26 September, SwissTPH representative and also HAP’s Senior Project Leader, Prof. Kaspar Wyss, led a field visit to Vlora, accompanied by Project Manager Dr. Besim Nuri and Nursing Specialist Ms Sajmira Adëraj.
The visit began at Novosela Health Centre, where the delegation met with the director, home care coordinator, family doctors and nurses to discuss the implementation of home care services and the application of clinical guidelines and protocols for non-communicable diseases, elderly care, and mental health.
At the Regional Directorate of the Operator, meetings were held with Director Olta Gani and senior PHC officials to review collaboration on strengthening home care services and ensuring consistent application of guidelines at the regional level. The visit concluded with the observation of a training session for nurse-trainers on Standard Nursing Procedures.
Both visits reaffirmed the importance of continued cooperation between HAP, local health centres, and regional operators to ensure quality and accessible primary healthcare services for the community.