The Qatar Red Crescent Society has distributed aid to some 600 vulnerable families in Albania as a part of the Warm Winter Campaign 2021-2022.
Under the slogan, “Home Feels Warm”, the food and other supplies were delivered to help families combat the severe weather conditions including temperatures of up to minus 15 in January.
Over two months, parcels were delivered to some 3000 people in mountains regions around Tirana. The aim was to provide basic sustenance and meet the food needs of many families during winter. Families were chosen following a needs assessment and priority was given to those in inaccessible areas, or the most vulnerable.
This year’s Warm Winter Campaign seeks to provide food and winterization aid for 240,000 refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and poor people in 14 countries.
Over half of Albanians were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2020, the highest percentage in Europe according to the European Institute of Statistics (EUROSTAT).
Looking at data from EU member states, EEA, and Western Balkan countries, Albania performed worst with 51% of the population at risk. The second was Montenegro with around 40%, followed by Turkey with 38%, and North Macedonia with approximately 35%.
For comparison, the European average is 21.9% of the population, equivalent to 96.5 million people.
EUROSTAT defines those at risk of poverty as households that face severe material and social deprivation, cannot afford a set of predefined material items or social activities, or have a very low household work intensity.
In 2018, INSTAT, Albania’s state statistics agency reported the at-risk of poverty rate was just 23.4%. If this is correct, the number of those at risk could have more than doubled in just three years.
https://exit.al/en/2021/11/01/over-half-of-albanians-are-at-risk-of-poverty-worse-rates-in-europe/
