The assessment, carried out by experts from the European Commission (EC), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), with the support of national experts from Finland and Kosovo*, will bring together the Albanian Institute of Public Health and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developmentas well as other public agencies responsible for human health, animal health, and food safety.
The mission is part of ECDC’s accession support to EU candidate countries. During the mission, the experts will assess the current AMR situation in Albania and existing systems for AMR control, with a focus on surveillance and laboratory capacity, antimicrobial stewardship, infection prevention and control, education and public awareness.
Experts will meet with national authorities and stakeholders and visit institutions across the human and animal health sectors, including hospitals in Tirana and Durrës, primary healthcare services, the Institute of Public Health, the National Reference Laboratory, academic institutions, food safety and veterinary bodies, and representatives of the farming and veterinary sectors.
Overall, the findings will provide the basis for a national roadmap to address AMR, translating the identified priorities into concrete activities and indicators that will both support implementation and monitor progress.
The Albania mission builds on previous One Health AMR country assessments supported by ECDC in the EU candidate countries and potential candidate countries, including Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.
The EU’s One Health approach underlines the need for cooperation across sectors to ensure the health of people, animals, plants, and our shared environment, in recognition of their interconnection. One Health brings together professionals from multiple disciplines to undertake joint activities in order to solve complex threats that pose a danger to public health.
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence