#YouAreNotAlone – Opening the Door for Victims of Domestic Abuse
Increasing Awareness as We Shelter in Place Once-bustling streets have fallen silent, and Albania’s lively café culture has ground to a halt. Amidst the global pandemic, […]
Women’s Small Business Program uses Digital Delivery to Overcome COVID-19 Restrictions
The Municipality of Kamëz is a suburb of the capital Tirana and is centrally located within Albania. A medium-sized city with 125,632 inhabitants, Kamëz is 100 […]
USAID engages at the local level to strengthen communities and build resiliency.
As the world adjusts to a new normal amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, families throughout Albania are desperately seeking basic aid. In response to confirmed coronavirus cases […]
Gender-Sensitive Value Chain Analysis in Albania
By Erald Lamja Women are present in all Albanian value chains and markets carrying out important functions. Although both the public and private sectors have numerous […]
Supporting Women’s Inclusion and Value Chain Development in Albania
A Guide for Practitioners and Interested Stakeholders By Erald Lamja As a result of laws, policies, and programs, Albania has seen improvements in various aspects related […]
National Conference “Unlocking Potential: Gender-Sensitive Value Chain Analysis to Develop Better Economic and Development Policy and Programs”
By Erald Lamja On March 5th, the USAID Planning and Local Government Project (PLGP), in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD), organized […]
Supporting Women’s Economic Empowerment in Value Chains
By Erald Lamja Economic growth, and the markets that enable that growth, are one of the well-documented drivers in reducing poverty. Markets are the main means […]
Municipalities and citizens’ safety
Nineteen municipalities across Albania receive basic training in tackling root causes to prevent radicalization and violent extremism. By Robert Korkuti and Diamanta Vito Municipalities today are […]
Political Will to Achieve Greater Equality
Mayor of Bulqiza commits to work towards gender equality on International Women’s Day By Monika Kocaqi and Dolly Wittberger Equality of women and men is a […]
Youth empowerment through self-defense programs
By Laureta Memo Youth in Albania often encounter aggression and violence and are exposed to other risk factors leading to various types of abuse. However, an […]
Empowering women through local incentives
Partner municipalities approve groundbreaking reduction in local tariffs for women- and youth-owned startups. By Diamanta Vito and Erald Lamja Increased agency amplifies the abilities of women […]
Reforms in Albania informed by Regional Best Practices
By Elton Stafa Albanian local governments face many challenges as they work to fulfill their responsibilities in education, social protection, and healthcare. Key obstacles include inconsistent […]
"USAID is making a valuable contribution to the inclusion and empowerment of women in agricultural economic activities, focusing in particular on the value chain for the production of honey, traditional food, handicrafts, and especially in the cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants."
Bledi Çuçi, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Albania
“I want to recognize USAID's merit of being a leader in promoting and pushing forward the process of decentralization and autonomy of democratically elected local governments.” Arben Ahmetaj, Minister of Finance and Economy
"I want to thank the USAID project for inviting us to participate in their training activities even though we are not a partner municipality. It is very useful for me to learn from other colleagues about the ways they apply for the implementation of the new law on property tax." Vladimir Mato, Director of Tax Department - Municipality of Pogradec
“Our thanks go to the USAID Project for their support in preparing these useful informational materials. They will also serve as a template we can replicate in coming years, and we are already planning to allocate funds in the upcoming year’s budget for that purpose.” Olsi Zenaj, Tax Department Director of the Municipality of Fieri
I thank USAID/PLGP for their enormous contribution to the drafting, consultation and finalization of the Law on Local Self-Government Finance (LGFL). It was the most inclusive and comprehensive process of drafting a law ever undertaken in Albania. It is a clear example that should be followed in every law preparation process.” Erjon Luçi, Deputy Minister of Finance and Head of the LGFL Working Group