Healthcare

Albania is the 4^th poorest country in Europe. The Dibra region is among the poorest regions of Albania. People living in Dibra, Northern Albania, are the ones left behind. Here, unemployment is high, people are migrating in search of jobs and healthcare is scarce. “Pediatricians say it is difficult for them to provide the right diagnosis because they can’t do the right examination. They said that they only have stethoscope and their knowledge and that’s all.”

 “Even in the main hospital you can’t find equipment,” wrote Crossroads’ partners.

Crossroads’ is shipping to an NGO partner in this region who has been working on improving health care here since 1993. It’s a huge task in a region where doctors struggle to diagnose and treat patients, because they lack instruments and equipment.

Potential impact:

• This medical equipment will allow the doctors and other medical staff at the local hospital to provide much better care for the people of this area.
• This will make a great difference in the lives of the many who must go without medical care, or who are misdiagnosed due to a lack of medical equipment.

Shipment includes:

• Medical devices, mainly for standard hospital use.
  

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Economic needs in Dibra

Dibra is one of the poorest areas in the Albania. Incomes are so low for families that most of them are only surviving. Emigration is sometimes a solution, but this creates its own difficulties for the family or even for the community. Agriculture is one of the remaining sources of income, but farmers often can’t sell their produce (because of the geographical location, road infrastructure, etc). Many families receive social assistance, but say the amount must stretch so far that even a sack of flour is too much to afford.

Crossroads’ shipment will help traveling doctors treat people in places with no clinics, or with hospitals struggling with broken, decades-old equipment.