Albania

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KUKES 19 September 2007 – UNDP Resident Representative Mrs. Gülden Türköz-Cosslett and Head of the Delegation of the European Commission in Albania, Ambassador Helmuth Lohan, travelled to Kukes for two days to review the progress made on the Kukes Regional Development Initiative (KRDI) and the Mine Action Completion Initiative funded by the EC and implemented by UNDP Albania.

The overall total of both programmes under implementation during the last four years amounts to 10.6 million euros, 8.7 million euros of which come from the EC.

The KRDI project with an EC contribution of 4.2 million euros began in February 2005. The project aimed to improve basic infrastructure including water supply systems, sewage systems and school reconstruction for the poorest villages in the Kukes Region. The process of identifying and implementing these development projects was led by community-based organizations composed of citizens living in the communes of Kukes Region. The Kukes Regional Development Initiative is funded by the European Commission CARDS Programme and UNDP Albania.

During their visit, the delegation also reviewed progress of the Mine Action Completion Initiative where the EC has contributed 4.6 million euros in total. The Albanian Mine Action Programme is a multi-phased project, initiated since early 2002. The overall objective of the Programme is to free Albania from the effect of mines and un-exploded ordinance by the end of 2009 through a comprehensive Mine Action package of components including clearance of high and medium impact areas, maintenance of a due level of awareness of at-risk groups and mine victim assistance through improved medical care, physical rehabilitation and socio-economic reintegration. The project has also established a sustainable National Clearance Capacity (NCC) - as a national entity to complete clearance of the remaining areas presently considered low Impact, beyond 2006.


Facts about Kukes:

The average unemployment rate across the Region is just under 30%, compared to a national average of 14.6% recorded in 2001. With regard to women, the Institute for Gender Applied Policies notes that within Kukes town, 67% of women are unemployed; this figure is likely much higher in the rural areas;

• 56% percent of the population is in receipt of social aid, compared to a national average of 22%;

• Necessary infrastructure (roads, water, electricity, etc) is largely not functional or poorly maintained (e.g. less that 32% dwellings in Kukes Region have internal water access), thus hampering efforts of the citizens to establish sustainable livelihoods for themselves;
  

• High infant and maternal mortality rates (4-5 times higher than the EU average);
  

• Only 27% of students in rural areas attend secondary school (with the vast majority of female students not attending at all).
  

Nora.Kushti@undp.org