Liljana Ramasaco1, Adelina Selimi1, Elida Mataj2, Jonida Haxhiu2
1 Health Center No. 2, Tirana, Albania;
2 Institute of Public Health, Tirana, Albania.
Context: The gradual modernization of technology in health which does not necessarily correspond to the proper development of human capacities remains one of the main challenges in transitional Albania. Another challenge for the public health in Albania is related to the external environment characteristics including immigrants, free movement of people, cross-border care and epidemics. Also, there is a low level of basic cultural and health education of the general population. The concept of health education generally relates to the ability of individuals to contextualize their health.
Objective: To strengthen regional and international cooperation in response to global health issues such as:
- Describing active participation in regional and international health cooperation by contributing to Network of Health, by signing and implementing bilateral and multilateral agreements, strengthening existing co-operation with WHO.
- The focus of the cooperation will be global issues that have a particular impact on the region and the country, such as humanitarian crisis, migration, natural disasters, climate change, cross-border threats etc.
- Harmonization of national health standards, according to EU legislation and standard
Conclusion: Disaster preparedness and response should focus on building capacity to detect, evaluate and report important public health events; and maintaining open channels of communication with the WHO.
Key words: disaster, emergency, public health.