Key Partnerships and Support to Financing the 2030 Agenda

The United Nations’ support to Albania is made possible by our many valued partners, without whose partnership the UN would not have been able to achieve the accomplishments presented in the present report. Our key development partners include government institutions at the national, regional and local levels, civil society organizations (CSOs), academia, national and local media, the private sector, community organizations, international bilateral donors and International Finance Institutions (IFIs), who were instrumental in supporting implementation of the Cooperation Framework in 2022, as well as the 2030 Agenda in the country.

Partners' contribution to UNSDCF Outcomes in 2022.

UN Albania would like to give special recognition to the close partnership with the Government of Albania, the Prime Minister’s Office, Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament and the newly established parliamentarian sub-committee on achievement of the SDGs, thirteen line ministries and other governmental bodies who have all made significant contributions to our joint efforts in implementation of UN activities in the country.

As the UN interventions in Albania are mostly donor financed, mobilisation of the resources of our development partners is essential for their deployment, undertaken either bilaterally by UN agencies or through the Albania SDG Acceleration Fund. The top financing partners of the UNSDCF 2022–2026 this year were the European Union (EU) and the World Bank (WB), followed by the USA, Sweden, Swiss, Italy, and others. Several partners, such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the private sector, may not make a financial contribution to the UN in Albania, but their work is synergised with that of the UN, resulting in greater coverage of vulnerable or marginalised groups in the country.

The UN has continued to play a constructive role in Albania’s coordination for, such as the Donor Technical Secretariat, Development and Integration Partners, Integrated Policy Management Groups, and the Development Partners Coordination Group on Gender, as well as in the regional forums.

We at UN Albania work with all our government and development partners, public and private sectors, communities, and individuals towards achieving the #GlobalGoals. In 2022, we further consolidated and diversified our partnerships to help accelerate the achievement of the SDGs. Several innovative partnerships, particularly with youth, CSOs and the private sector, were established and have already produced notable results.

Great importance was placed by UN Albania on partnering with and for youth. Many activities were implemented in 2022 as a very important aspect of the overall UN Cooperation Framework, including the flagship regional project launched this year, which includes Albania, as part of the Peacebuilding Fund, on ‘Strengthening the role of youth in promoting increased mutual understanding, constructive narrative, respect for diversity, and trust’.

An excellent partnership was forged between the UN in Albania and the Tirana European Youth Capital. More than 40 events were implemented jointly under this programme over the year, including #Youth4Health–Tirane 2022 Health and Well-being Forum for Youth held in October during UN Week. This event paved the way for WHO-Europe’s first-ever regional network of its kind. Other activities organized jointly in the framework of this partnership included, among others, training opportunities, international events, conferences, exhibitions, advocacy actions including in the context of the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender Based Violence and the follow up from the 66th Commission on the Status of Women, and various studies.

This year we also teamed up with the private sector and our youth partners in an effort to raise awareness and encourage action on SDGs. Through this partnership an interactive tool in the form of an SDG quiz was developed in cooperation with a major telecom provider, with an estimated reach of 500,000 users. 

Under great partnership with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, ‘Bebbo’ was released, the first mobile parenting app to support parents and other caregivers of children up to six years of age. This application aims to reach 20,000 parents in Albania.

A financing agreement was signed with the American Bank of Investments to help 50 microbusinesses recover from the impact of the earthquakes that struck Albania in 2019. Abi Bank has committed USD 100,000 to this partnership. Through it, 50 businesses were supported with situational diagnosis, training in soft and business skills, and investment in equipment.

In close partnership with the private sector, the UN Free & Equal campaign in Albania expanded its work by introducing UN Standards of Conduct for Business: Tackling Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Intersex People to dozens of companies with the aim of creating a more inclusive workplace. Many companies officially endorsed the standards within the year.

Effective partnerships were established during 2022 with a series of ‘champion’ private sector companies to promote more family-friendly policies and gender-responsive work environments and create conditions for a better work–life balance. The new established partnerships, totaling eight as of 2022, include also the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination (CPD), which aims to further increase capacities, understanding and knowledge of the Champion Companies. Meanwhile, the Women Economic Chamber for the responsibilities and obligations of private business has to enforce the Law against Discrimination and enable a family-friendly, gender-responsive and non-discriminatory work environment.

Following continuous efforts to promote the UN Global Compact and the Global Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), several awareness-raising events and workshops were organized during the year with private sector companies and Chambers of Commerce. This resulted in a significant increase in the number of companies joining the WEPs in 2022, from 11 to 38. The 27 new WEPs signatories comprise companies from a variety of sectors – banking, publishing, education, business consulting, telecommunication, construction, law – and chambers of commerce, all committing to abide and follow the set of seven principles promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community.