Genc Burazeri1, Albana Fico1,2, Alban Ylli1,2, Enver Roshi1
1 Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania;
2 Institute of Public Health, Tirana, Albania.
The process of implementation of the Albanian National Health Strategy (ANHS 2016-2020) is generally characterized by a good progress and has resulted in many achievements. Hence, several established health targets have been already met, or are quite likely to be achieved by the end of 2020.
In particular, the target set for life expectancy has been already achieved by the end of 2017 for both men and women in Albania. The target established for premature mortality from major non-communicable diseases can be also achieved along with the target on mortality rates from external causes of death and injuries, which all go in line with the progress of health care system and other major reforms undertaken in the past few years in Albania.
However, most of the targets set for lifestyle/behavioral characteristics can be hardly achieved in 2020 including tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and, particularly, overweight and obesity which are on the rise among Albanian adults.
Furthermore, the indicator on out-of-pocket health expenditure is currently behind the envisaged target and unlikely to be achieved. Likewise, the target on public health expenditure can be hardly met by the end of 2020.
Nonetheless, Albania is well-positioned to achieve strong progress on most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by building on the development gains the country has made through extensive reforms in many sectors.
Keywords: health indicators, health targets, national health strategy, sustainable development goals (SDGs).