Albania

Building upon the JSI/SEATS/Albania project, the TASC/Albania project seeks to improve access to quality reproductive health services for Albanian women, in order to address the neglect of the communist regime. In 1990, Albania emerged from fifty years of repression, isolation, and strict pro-natalist government policy. Consequently, provider skills and knowledge and client knowledge of modern family planning techniques and reproductive health were extremely low. Additional challenges included the sporadic availability of services, poorly equipped and furnished service sites, the lack of informational resources on family planning for providers and clients, and poor logistics and information systems in the public health sector. The low prevalence of modern contraceptive methods and a high abortion rate (nearly one abortion for every two live births) further highlighted the need for improved family planning services and information.

To address these challenges, the TASC/JSI project in Albania focuses on provider training; client and provider information, education, and communication; contraceptive logistics management systems; and clinical equipment provision. To meet the goal of improving the access to quality family planning and reproductive health services for Albanian women, the TASC/JSI project is expanding the SEATS program activities geographically and technically.

TASC/Albania is working—

• To improve the quality of selected reproductive health and family planning services by improving the skills and knowledge of service providers through training and provision of informational materials; improving and monitoring the contraceptive logistics system so commodities are available and used efficiently; creating client-focused reproductive health services and improving providers’ skills in client counseling; and improving the monitoring of service quality

• To continue to increase client demand for these improved reproductive health services by creating and distributing informational materials for clients; completing a mass media program, begun by SEATS, that promotes public sector services; and working with NGOs for community mobilization for improved primary health care

• To continue to build the capacity of the public sector to support, monitor, and improve reproductive health programs and services, thereby ensuring the sustainability of TASC activities.